Runner of Syrlan
by EvenSong
Summary: Finished! -Sniff- A girl is sent on a mission to save her country...the end is here. Will everything be doomed, including Cedric? I think not! rrenjoy!
1. Flaming Hillside

A/N: this is a little bit short...but call it a teaser chapter. Please review and tell me if you like it!  
  
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I was the one who saw the riders coming from the east road. They were riding from the direction of Lamar, the neighbor kingdom of my homeland, Syrlan. They wore the colors of Lamar as well: blood red and midnight blue. Their color guard carried the flag, which labeled them as outriders, although why they were scouting in Syrlan was a mystery to me.  
  
I shimmied out of my tree and sprinted back into the village. "Riders from the East! Flags of Lamar!" all of the adults looked nervously at each other. They obviously knew something that I didn't.   
  
"Liana! Run to Milltown and give them the warning! Hurry!" My uncle picked up a sword he had made. "Jake! Ring the bell!" my cousin ran to do his bidding.   
  
I caught my breath in the shadows, waiting for my mother to bring me some water. She did, but also a knife with it. "Liana, take this knife with you. You may need it."   
  
"What is going on?" I wanted to know!  
  
"You will know soon enough," she said grimly. "Now go! Fly like the wind, my child!" I tucked the knife into my boot, gave Mother a quick kiss, and then I ran.   
  
My way was easy; our town was on a hill, hence the name of Hill Town, so my way was mostly downhill. It took me a good half hour to reach Milltown, but I made it.   
  
"Let me in!" I screamed as I pounded on the gate.   
  
"What's your business?" a gruff voice inquired.  
  
"Message from Hill Town! Now let me in, dammit!" I had gathered that my message was urgent by the way my mother and my uncle urged me to hurry, so I wanted to deliver it as fast as possible.   
  
"Alright, alright!" the gatekeeper unlocked the gate and I stumbled in. "Now what's your message, laddie?"  
  
"Riders from the East," I panted, annoyed at being mistaken for a boy. "Flags of Lamaran Outriders!" I stumbled and the gatekeeper caught me. "And I'm not a lad, I'm a lassie." The crowd that had gathered around us chuckled uneasily.   
  
"You heard her report! Bar the gates! Arm yourselves! Ring the bell! Send a runner out to the next village! Move! Now!" the gatekeeper was also the headman on the village, it seemed, as he was the one giving orders. "Now lassie, run back to your own village and tell 'em that we got the message."  
  
I turned around to go and caught sight of the hill where my village was.  
  
Or where it used to be.   
  
The hill was now covered in flames and smoke. I gasped and ran toward my home.   
  
"Lassie! Wait! Don't go back!" I didn't heed him- I just kept running. I heard him thudding along behind me, but there was no way that he could catch me: I was a runner of Syrlan.   
  
Even though the way was uphill, I made better time back than I had going. My adrenaline pushed me faster than I had ever run before. I was almost at the top of the hill when I saw them. They didn't see me; so intent were they in the killing and ravaging that they were doing. Their blood red uniforms were stained darker by the blood of my family and friends. I wanted to kill them.   
  
"Don't go! They'll kill you too!" Something tugged my leg when I inched forward. It was Jake.   
  
"Jake!"   
  
"Shhh!" he looked unharmed. "Don't you dare leave me, Liana! Not now!"   
  
"But what about Mother? And Uncle Rex? You can't just leave them there to die!" I protested in a harsh whisper.  
  
"They're dead." I couldn't believe it. All of those lives had been cut short.   
  
"No…"   
  
"Down!" Jake pulled me lower into the grass as a Lamaran soldier walked by. The Outrider stopped and looked in our direction. He must have seen the moving grass. I forgot to breathe.   
  
"Oy! Roth! I think there's something over here!" The Outrider seemed to stare directly at me.   
  
"Oh no…" The two Outriders walked over to us.   
  
"Well, look what we have here! A sack of gold!" The first Outrider picked it up, and the second, the one named Roth, grabbed it away, "Hey that's mine!"  
  
"Well, come and get it!" the two men started to punch each other, and soon other Outriders joined. It was a full-scale brawl.   
  
"Liana! This way!" we escaped together and started to run. Most of the men were still fighting, but there was a look out on the hill. He saw us and raised the alarm.   
  
"Escapees! Escapees! After them! After them!" the crier's voice cracked a few times, making me giggle.   
  
"Liana…run!" Jake sprinted ahead of me, into the woodland that bordered the path we were taking.   
  
"Jake!" I was still tired from my previous runs and I couldn't run as fast as usual. I couldn't believe that he had left me. I could hear the Outriders running behind me. They were gaining. I risked a glance behind me and saw that they were on horses.   
  
"There's one! After him!" I was sick of being called a boy. I decided to make their chase a bit more difficult. I threw myself into the underbrush, and then ran on. I knew my way around the forest- they did not. Still they followed me. The next time I hid in the underbrush was to rest. I lay there panting as their horses thundered by me. When I had regained my breath, I crept out of my hiding spot.   
  
"Halt." I froze. Surrounding me were a group of Lamaran Outriders. "Hold out your hands." Did they think that I was really that stupid?   
  
"No." One of them pushed me over violently. That was perfect. I gabbed the knife that was in my boot and stood up slowly, knife hidden. Then I ran.   
  
I threw the knife at the Outrider who tried to stop me. He fell over with a gurgle, my knife in his throat. I leapt over him and sprinted as fast as I could. Then I saw the horses.   
  
I chose the one that looked the best a first glance. The horses had been unsaddled, showing the Outrider's confidence in their ability. This posed no problem. I grabbed the bay's mane and climbed on.  
  
"The squirt'll never stay on Torch!" One Outrider commented cynically.   
  
"After her!" The other Outriders mounted up and followed. I was happy that they got my gender right. I was in for the ride of my life.   
  
The horse I was on was no tame palfrey or trained war steed, he was wild! Luckily for my butt (and me) he stopped bucking and twisting very quickly.   
  
"I don't believe it!"   
  
"She's actually riding Torch!"   
  
"Are you sure that's a girl?"  
  
"Follow her!"   
  
I dug my heels into poor Torch's sides, and he obligingly sped up. Soon I was out of the forest and into a grassy meadow. I saw Milltown not far in the distance. "Run horse! Faster!" I smacked him with my hand, and the horse lengthened his stride even more. I exulted in the heady euphoria of this incredible speed. I felt invincible!  
  
Torch stumbled suddenly, and I flew over his head. I landed with a thump. Torch slowed and circled me, as if wondering what I was doing on the ground. Someone whistled, and the horse's ears pricked. He trotted happily over to the young man whose voice had cracked. The Outrider gave him a hug and patted him lovingly.   
  
"Don't move." I didn't. A face leaned over mine. He brushed a lock of my brown hair out of the way so he could see the mark that was tattooed onto my cheek. "A Syrlan runner, eh? No wonder you outran us. No where's your partner?"   
  
"I…I…don't know." It was true, too; I didn't know- Jake had just left me!  
  
"Right. Tie her up." The man walked away. My hands were tied in no time at all, and my ankles soon followed. "Somebody has to carry her."   
  
"Who?" A yellow-haired man asked.   
  
"Shane." The man pointed to the youth who held Torch.   
  
"But can't we put her on Roth's horse? And tie her there?" Shane obviously didn't want to have a second passenger.   
  
"Good, good. Do that." The leader instructed his underlings. One of the men picked me up and draped me unceremoniously over his shoulder. A horse was brought out and I was draped over its saddle. Then they tied me on.   
  
"Hey, can somebody give me-"  
  
"We ain't giving you nothing." He slapped me lightly.  
  
"Hey! What was that- mmph!" the Outrider shoved a rope into my mouth and tied it around the back of my head. I had been gagged!   
  
"Shane!"  
  
"What?" the youth looked up from petting his horse.   
  
"Lead the prisoner's horse." A disgruntled Shane got down from his mount a grabbed the rope that was attached the horse's bridle. Quickly he remounted and attached the lead rope to Torch's saddle.   
  
"Don't fall off," he warned me. As if I would want to.   
  
"Uh-uh." I mumbled.   
  
Then the Outrider behind me said, "No talking." And he whacked me on the head and knocked me unconscious in the process.   
  
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A/N: All reviews are welcome....PLEASE REVIEW!! i love getting reviews!!! tell me what you think...and does ANYONE have suggestions for more names, boy or girl? please tell me if you do! thank you!   
  
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	2. Early Morning Jog

Disclaimer: whatever storyline i follow, i don't own the plot or anything. i do own my characters. i love them!   
  
When I woke up, the world was dark. I was still hanging on the horse. Then I saw a glint of light that had to be a campfire. I sighed. The nights got cold at this time of year in Syrlan, and I wanted to be warm!   
  
"Liana?" I jerked my head up as far as my position would allow.   
  
It was Jake! "Yesh…" I mumbled. Jake brought out a knife and cut the ropes that bound me to the saddle. I started to slide off, and he caught me. Jake lowered me onto the ground and then cut the ropes tied around my hands and ankles.   
  
"C'mon." I followed Jake past the sentries. The sentries didn't notice us- we made no noise. Runners of Syrlan were trained in that!   
  
"Jake, what'll we do when they find out I'm gone?" We were hiding in a thicket of thorns.  
  
"Shhh. We're going to run to Mirkyn," Jake said.  
  
"The capitol?" Jake affirmed it with a nod. "OhdearSky." Mirkyn was at least twenty miles away from Hill Town, and it was probably farther from wherever we were now. "Can we start in the morning?"   
  
"I was planning to."   
  
"Good." I closed my eyes, then thought of something. "Jake?"  
  
"Yes?" he said sleepily.  
  
"How did you find me?"   
  
"I followed you. You left quite a large trail going through the woods and the Outriders followed most of the roads. They're heading to Mirkyn." So we were closer than I thought! That was good. "Then I found you hanging over that horse and brought you here. We should be in Mirkyn by noon tomorrow."   
  
I smiled, and slept.   
  
~~   
  
"Liana. Liana! Dammit, Liana, wake up!" Jake shook me awake. I looked up and saw- stars.   
  
"Jake, its still dark! It can't be two yet!" I groaned and rolled over.   
  
"Its not. It's a little after one." Jake shook me again to keep me awake.   
  
"I thought you said we could start in the morning!" I was not happy- I had been hoping for a little bit of sleep. Now it seemed as if I wasn't going to get it.   
  
"It is morning, Liana! Now get up!" Jake lurched to his feet, and I soon followed suit.  
  
We took off at a slow jog, conserving our energies for the long stretches of open fields we would have to run through. Absently, I brushed the tattoo on my cheek that signified me as a Runner of Syrlan. Jake stopped, panting, when we reached the edge of the forest.   
  
"Ready to run?" He asked me.   
  
"Let's go!" We took off, our legs pumping in unison (at least for the first few steps) the wind combing our hair. To ruin the whole effect, our shadows were not loyally following us wherever we went- it was still dark.   
  
Soon enough, we reached a stretch of forest again and we slowed to a jog. Sooner or later, Jake figured that we would come upon a town or some other form of civilization. We came upon it sooner, thank goodness.   
  
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In the wee hours of the morning, two exhausted Runners of Syrlan knocked on the gates of the small hamlet called Loran.   
  
~~  
  
"Whaddyawant?" A sleepy voice asked us.   
  
"We want-"Jake started  
  
"-shelter." I finished for him.  
  
"Who be ye?" the gatekeeper asked.  
  
"We be-"again Jake started and I finished.  
  
"-Runners." Jake glanced at me in annoyance, then in comprehension.   
  
"What be ye called by?"   
  
"We be called by-" Jake let me finish of his own accord this time.  
  
"-our names."  
  
"And what, pray tell, be ye names?" The gatekeeper was obviously becoming annoyed.   
  
"I am-" Jake started, and then looked to me.   
  
"-Jake, and I am-" I let Jake finish my sentence.  
  
"-Liana."   
  
"What business do ye have at this hour?"   
  
"We carry-" this time I started and let Jake finish.  
  
"-A Message for the King." We had succeeded at winning the gatekeeper over, whether it was with the fact that we appeared to share a bond so tight it was magical, or the fact that we were Runners with a message.   
  
The gate swung open and I saw before me what had to be the tallest man in all of Syrlan. He towered over me by about three feet, and I wasn't all that short. "Come in, quickly!"   
  
We hurried in. "Thank you-" I started.  
  
"-Sir." Jake finished.   
  
"Why in all hell do ye two do that?" The gatekeeper stooped down to look at as.   
  
"Because-"  
  
"-We can!" I finished impishly.   
  
"Well, stop!"   
  
"Alright, alright!" I grumbled. "We'll stop if you tell us the worst inn in town and promise-"   
  
"-Not to mention us to anybody. Agreed?" Jake held out his hand and the gatekeeper took it suspiciously.   
  
"Agreed, now, come this way." The giant led us through the lightening streets of Loran, through twists and turns until finally we arrived at a tiny heap of lumber that had the audacity to call itself an inn.   
  
We had asked for it, though.   
  
"This here's the Broken Bottle." The gatekeeper pointed at the sign hanging from a post that depicted shards of glass. "Chemed here's your owner, manager and bartender." He slapped a drooling old man on the back. "Anything else you need, come to him and he'll get it for you."   
  
"Uh…Thanks, sir." I smiled as he lumbered away.   
  
"Youse! Over there! C'mere!" Chemed was beckoning to us.   
  
"Yes?" It seemed a bit out of place to be calling this drooling old man, 'sir'.   
  
"Ye be wanting a room?" Jake nodded slowly. "I have just the one for you and your," he leered at me, "consort."   
  
"Hey- that is not-!" by accident, I bit Jake's lip when kissed me suddenly. I'm sure he thought I did it on purpose.   
  
"We'll take it." Jake followed the old geezer, ah, innkeeper inside and instructed him to wake us up at noon, or if he got wind of Lamaran Outriders. Jake slipped the man a coin as he left the little curtained off corner we were going to share.   
  
"Jake, why did you let him believe we were lovers? I am most certainly not interested in you that way. You're my cousin, for Sky's Sake!" I was not happy about this thought. "That's just sick."   
  
"It was necessary, Liana." Oh, so that was his reason. It was necessary. I sneered in contempt.   
  
"It wasn't."  
  
"Yes, it was. It may have been unpleasant, Liana, but it was necessary." Jake crossed his arms and stared at me.   
  
I crossed my arms too, and then, belligerently, stated, "I do not think that it was necessary." I had my back turned to the curtain, so I didn't see it move when Chemed poked his head in.   
  
Jake swept me into a crushing hug as soon as he saw the curtain twitch.   
  
"Is everything satisfactory?" The fool must have looked disgusting, that same leer still plastered on his face.   
  
"No," I mumbled, my words lost in Jake's shirt.   
  
"Yes, it is, thank you. You may go and leave us to…uh…leave us." Jake motioned with his hand, and the innkeeper left with a perverted snigger.   
  
"That's just sick."   
  
"Sorry, it was-" I cut him off.  
  
"I know, it was necessary. I'm going to sleep." I curled up in a corner with my back to Jake. In all appearances, I went straight to sleep.   
  
I had closed my eyes, but my mind was still open. I thought of staying with Jake. I thought of getting caught. I relished in my anger against him. I was being self-centered and over sensitive, but I really didn't care. I made up my mind. I was going on without Jake.   
  
It was stupid, yes, but that was what I was going to do. I was going to run away, literally. I waited until Jake's breathing was even and deep. Then I got up, grabbed a loaf of bread from the table, left a copper in its place, and walked out.   
  
The gatekeeper let me out of the town without comment. I turned toward Mirkyn and started to jog. Eventually, I ended up in the open meadows, where I ran.   
  
Running in the early morning hours was delightful: the sun had not yet had time to scorch everything to bits, and there was a charming little breeze cavorting about the skies. I laughed as I ran. One time, I even sang as I loped through the fields.   
  
"Skies of blue  
  
So pretty and bold  
  
Spread before me  
  
As my future unfolds  
  
I'm free as the wind  
  
And as happy as the song  
  
If I run where I want  
  
I'll arrive before long!"   
  
Then I ran out of breath and had to stop. When I stopped I noticed a person running beside me through the grass. I was so surprised that I stumbled, and she caught me. We stopped, both curious about the other.   
  
"Who're you?" I asked her.   
  
"I'm Sienna." She informed me. "Who're you?"  
  
"I'm Liana." I smiled, and she tentatively smiled back.   
  
"You have a beautiful singing voice. Where did that song come from?" She giggled. "It was so…so…so original!"   
  
I blushed. "Thanks. I actually made the song up myself."   
  
"Ooh! It was so good!" She caught my hand. "C'mon! Follow me!"   
  
Being impulsive, I did.   
  
~~  
  
A/N: alright...those of you who reviiewed- thank you! And, Black Jaguar, I'll try to remember to make her sound a little less cynical in the face or death. Thanks for pointing that out! And anybody who has names, tell me!! I still need them... Lemme know what you think of my characters too...are they terrible, good, ok, any improvements...yada yada. You get the picture. Anyway! REVIEW!!!   
  
*smiles* 


	3. The Storyteller's Tale

A/N: Yes, the disclaimer, of course: fairy tales don't belong to me, didn't write them...but my characters do, so don't steal them. I know i didn't give ya'll lots of time to review (i can't believe i just said 'ya'll') but, review both chapters please!!   
  
  
  
"Shari, Shari! We have a guest!" Sienna bounded up to the door of a small cottage with a thatched roof and banged on the door. Still, holding my hand, she dragged me along to the next house in the small village. On each door she knocked, calling out the names of the inhabitants: Shari, Aretha, Leone, Sam, Jack, Mick, Kyle and Kevin, George and Gisela, Marie and Kate.   
  
It was a small town.   
  
On the last house we passed, Sienna didn't knock or call out a name. I wondered why. "Why not that house?"   
  
"That's where Old Ilea lives. She doesn't like us disturbin' her peace."   
  
"Oh."   
  
"Sienna! I knows you got someone out there, and she ain't from our village. Introduce us." Sienna cringed as the old voice grated on our ears. "Coming ma'am." We stepped inside the old house and walked into the gloom toward a shape sitting in the darkest corner.   
  
"Who's it?" Old Ilea squawked   
  
"This is Liana, ma'am." Sienna shoved me forward.  
  
"How do you do, ma'am." I leaned forward toward the old woman. Without warning, she grabbed my chin and turned my head toward her.   
  
"A Runner of Syrlan!" She cried triumphantly. She traced the tattoo on my cheek. "I know some old stories about Runners…" She trailed off, lost in memory. I tried ineffectually to jerk my chin out of her grasp, but her grip was like iron.   
  
"Uh, ma'am… could you let my chin go?" startled, she did.   
  
"Ilea, why don't you tell us a story about Runners tonight, around the campfire?" Sienna suggested hopefully.   
  
"I will." Ilea heaved herself to her feet and lumbered out of the hut. When I stepped out of the hut, I gasped, I hadn't realized how late it was! I had been running for almost a day and a half without stopping! I watched the sun disappear behind the tops of the wheat.   
  
"Runner, come join us at the fire!" I hadn't noticed the fire the townsfolk had built, but now I did, I could smell the food cooking too. Eagerly I joined them.  
  
I accepted the meat and bread they gave me with joy. Except for the bread I had eaten earlier, I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast on the day I was scouting. I was hungry! "Tank you," I lisped through a mouthful of food.   
  
"Ilea! Tell us a story!"   
  
"About what?"  
  
"You said you'd tell us about the Runners!" Sienna said.   
  
"Ah, yes. I shall tell you of the First Runner. His name was Matthias." I sat back and listened to Old Ilea tell the tale.   
  
"The tale of First Runner, Matthias  
  
"The King was newly crowned, the country newly formed and his enemies were already attacking from all directions. The King felt that there was only one person he could trust: it was not the Queen, not his Bodyguard, but his fool. His fool's name was Matthias.   
  
"Matthias was not an imposing figure, he was barely sixteen hands tall, and his sparkling blue eyes and boyish smile made him seem quite the fool. Matthias was not a stupid clod that many perceived him to be, he was actually quite intelligent, and he remembered things the first time he heard them. In short, Matthias was the King's perfect spy.   
  
"Soon, the country was torn apart by war, and the King assembled his troops and marched bravely onto the battlefield. Unfortunately the Generals' attacks were not coordinated because of a lack of communication. The King was losing many men daily, and pondered long and hard over this predicament. He tried to send messengers on horseback, but the enemy quickly shot them down. They were too easy of a target.   
  
"Then the fool who was not a fool made a suggestion to the King. He suggested that people on foot take the messages. They would be smaller targets, and easier to hide. The King thought it was foolproof. He assembled a small group of men, all of who were recommended by Matthias the Fool. He gave them each a message to take with them.   
  
"The messages were not written on parchment, but memorized. This ploy worked well for a while, and the King's armies started to win their battles. Alas! The enemy soon caught on and began to hunt out the runners, then assassinate them and take their place, delivering false plans to the Generals. The plans lapsed into chaos again.   
  
"The King asked Matthias for a new plan, since it had been his idea. Matthias decided that a tattoo should be placed on the left cheek of the Runners, as they were being called. The King wondered what the mark would look like.   
  
"Matthias drew a design in the dirt: a "S" drawn like a vine. He made the dye to paint the insignia of the Runners out of a rare plant that was found only in a few places. Matthias himself journeyed to these places in secret, gathering the plant called krien. He then painted the first emblem on himself, since he had been the first Runner.  
  
"Soon, the other Runners followed suit. Now they could not be impersonated, and delivered their messages in relative safety. The enemies of the King longed to find this secret plant, but they could not. The war was won in a matter of weeks, and Matthias was no longer known as Matthias the Fool, but as Matthias the Runner.   
  
"He was treated with great respect from then on. He married a noblewoman and together they had a daughter. At first this was very disappointing to Matthias, who had been hoping for a son to follow in his footsteps. Alas, it was a girl.   
  
"Soon Matthias learned to accept this, and he trained his daughter. Alexandria, to be the fastest Runner Syrlan had seen yet. He taught her where and how to find the precious krien, and warned her never to tell of what she knew.   
  
"Her mother had protested, but as Matthias had accepted his daughter, she likewise accepted her daughter's choice. The other noblemen and noblewomen encouraged their own children to become Runners, for they all remembered the Runners' part in the winning of the war. Even peasants and rabble were joining the ranks of Runners.   
  
"Matthias saw a problem in this; the Runners were too large, to unrefined. He prayed one night to Sky: OhdearSky please let there be a way to distinguish who is and is not a Runner. Let there be a mark to prove the fact. Please, for the sake of Syrlan!  
  
"And Sky saw fit to answer Matthias's prayer. Upon the left cheek of every child meant to be a Runner was branded an "S" made of a vine from the moment they were conceived. The child knew instinctively how to run the fastest, and always had an excellent memory. Matthias's prayers had truly been answered well.   
  
" The mark could not be duplicated, no matter how hard one tried, the ink of the krien (for it was now a well known fact that that was the plant the tattoo was drawn with) would not stick. The Runners instantly dismissed anyone whose mark disappeared from their cheek.   
  
"This is how the Runners of Syrlan were formed." Old Ilea concluded her tale with a dramatic flourish of her hands. I smiled. Mother had never told me this story of the Runners.   
  
"Awesome…" Sienna sighed  
  
"Were you born with the mark?" A little boy in worn clothing gazed up at me.   
  
"Of course she was, don't be stupid." A taller boy, probably his brother cuffed him.   
  
"Hey! Don't hit him!" An even taller youth, who looked to be about my age stepped in. She was tall and a quite imposing figure.   
  
"Shari, butt out!" The boy who had been abusing his brother whined.  
  
"Uh-uh, Mickey, little bro, you're going down."   
  
"Shari! Don't call me Mickey! You know I hate the name!" he turned to me, "Hello, Runner, my name is Mick."   
  
I stifled a giggle. "Hello Mick, my name is Liana. Now I believe Shari here is waiting to speak with you." I left him to Shari, and she laughed.  
  
"Thank you, Liana." Immediately the two engaged in an all out wrestling match, which ended up having to be moved to a spot where the participants and onlookers would not be likely to catch fire.   
  
I felt a tug on my tunic. "I'm Chase. That's short for Charles," The little boy said importantly.   
  
"Well, hello Chase! I'm Liana." I bowed to him.   
  
He giggled. "I've got a mark to y'know."   
  
"Really? Can I see?" He nodded shyly and brushed a wisp of blonde hair out of the way so I could see his mark better. I traced it lightly with my finger. "Wow! You'll be a good Runner someday Chase!"   
  
"Yeah! I can already beat Mickey in a race! And sometimes Shari too, if she's tired." I was smiling at the thought of this tiny little boy beating the taller Mickey in a race.   
  
"Liana!" I looked up to see Sienna bearing down on me. "C'mon, I've got a bed for you." Suddenly, I realized how tired I was. It may sound cliché, but I had been so wrapped up in the story and meeting new people that I had completely forgotten my weariness.   
  
I smiled gratefully at Sienna, "Thank you. Night," I waved to Chase as   
  
Sienna led me to the stables and pointed at a pile of hay. "You're going to have a good night's sleep on that. Its soft, I should know! I tried it out. Alone of course," she hastily added as she blushed.   
  
I laughed and smiled. "Thank you, but where are you going to sleep?"   
  
"Oh, I picked sentry tonight. That's my bed. I slept earlier today." Sienna grimaced. "I have sentry with Mickey of all people. Anyway, good night!"   
  
"Night…" I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.   
  
A/N: (yes, another one) thanks all who reviewed previous chapters. does anyone have a favorite fairy tale? tell me please. i'm looking for something to make this story fit into this category... heh. oops. anyway...names names names!!! and does anyone have any ideas about a romantic interest for Liana, should she even have one, and other friends along the way. Is there any perilous situation you would particularly like to see her in? Or an embarassing situation...(musing to self)...hmm....anyway, tell me!!!!!!!! please!!! and always remember to review after reading. thanks a bunch! :) i hope you enjoyed this chapter...  
  
*smiles* 


	4. Taming the Wild Mare

Disclaimer: I did not write fairy tales. I did write this.   
  
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I woke up and I forgot where I was. I thrashed about blindly in the near-darkness until I remembered. Then I felt properly foolish because at that moment Sienna chose to poke her head in and ask if I was alright. I nodded cheerily. Then I curled up and went back to sleep.   
  
When I woke up again, there was shouting out side. I crept to the door to listen and watch. I saw the red and blue uniforms of Lamar.   
  
"Have you seen a Runner come through here? She's about yay high, with short, brown hair, and she's wearing a grey tunic that is ripped and worn." I looked down at my clothes. Yup, he was describing me alright.   
  
Then I heard Sienna, "Lemme go see if Old Ilea has seen anyone. Hold on, just a moment please."   
  
Why was she acting like this? I thought. Why didn't she just happily give me away? I hadn't told them anything to indicate that I was running from Lamarans, had I? I worried until Sienna crept into the barn.   
  
"Why are you hiding me?" I asked her promptly.  
  
"Because we don't like them. If you hadn't realized, you are very close to the border here. They like to take things from us…like young women. In addition, if you also haven't noticed, you're the right age for them to take. They'll probably take me with them. C'mon, this way." I crawled after her.   
  
I heard Ilea's creaking voice: "We don't got no Runners here. You just leave! Now! Get out! Ye scoundrels!"   
  
I heard the sounds of cursing and what also sounded suspiciously like a rock hitting a body.   
  
Then I heard the order. "Search the buildings. Any girl who is over the age of fifteen will come with us. Go. Be back as soon as possible."   
  
"Damn. Hurry!" Sienna cursed some more under her breath and kept crawling toward the back of the barn.   
  
"C'mon, who'll help me look in the barn?" I scurried faster along the floor as the door opened.   
  
"We will." There was much laughter. Five forms stood in the doorway.   
  
"Don't move." Sienna pulled me into a shadowed between two stalls. "Here," she whispered as she pressed the hilt of a knife into my palm. I sighed as the men drew nearer. Death felt almost imminent.   
  
Then, I sneezed.   
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Over there!"  
  
"Oh no…" Sienna sobbed softly as the men drew nearer. "Ready?"  
  
"Ready. Sorry." I grimaced. She gave me a weak smile.   
  
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here. Two wenches ripe for the picking." A rough hand grasped my arm and hauled me upward. I clutched the knife Sienna had given me within the fold of my shirt. Another man in Lamaran colors grabbed Sienna.   
  
"Uh," I gasped as the man slung me over his shoulder. I loosened my hand until I could throw the knife. Deftly, I threw the blade. It buried itself neatly into the man's neck who was carrying Sienna. With a gurgle, he fell to the ground.   
  
Sienna stood up, clutching two daggers. One, still dripping the blood of its victim, the other shining with a deadly light. The other men looked at her amazed.   
  
"Put her down." She said calmly to the man who was carrying me. He laughed at her. Smiling sweetly, she threw my knife so that it was buried in his stomach.   
  
"Wha…?" said the man stupidly as he died. Nervously, I twisted out from underneath him as he sank to the ground. I wrenched my knife out of him, making sure to give it a cruel twist.  
  
Heartlessly, I threw my knife at the man who approached his companion. The blade cut his arm deeply, but did not kill him; it had been a careless throw. He glared at me a cursed.   
  
"That's vulgar." I stated, as if I had been talking about the weather. I felt sick. I had just seen two men die, one of them at my own hands. I hated myself for that, even if it had been a Lamaran Outrider.   
  
"What did you say?" he stared at me incredulously.  
  
"I said, 'That's vulgar.'" I shut my eyes. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to be sick." And I was: all over his boots and hose. Then, for the finishing touch, I wiped my mouth on his overcoat.   
  
I looked back to see Sienna lying on the ground, her knife, clean, on the ground beside her. Another knife, smaller than ours, was buried in her throat, her blood spilling onto the ground around her.   
  
"Oh, no. Not her, not Sienna, oh no…" I trailed off, my mind lost in the horrors of what had happened. With out a protest, I allowed an Outrider to scoop me up and carry me away from the barn.   
  
He carried me in his arms like I had seen my brother do when he married his love. He carried me as if I were a small child who had been injured and need care. He also carried me as far as his arms could stretch, in case I should be sick again.   
  
When I was, I made sure to tilt my head toward him.   
  
The tears slipped down my face as I watched Old Ilea watch me being carried away. 'Sienna' I mouthed. She just nodded as if she already knew. She was crying too.   
  
I saw Aretha and Leone being held on horses by their captors. They looked frightened. The next person I saw sitting on a horse with a Lamaran Outrider shocked me. It was Chase. It was then I knew. I knew I had to help them somehow. At least get little Chase away.  
  
I was stuck with one problem: how.   
  
When my captor set me on his horse before he got up, I almost smiled. I knew what I was going to do.   
  
I dug my heels into the horse's sides and galloped toward Chase. I swept him out of the startled soldier's arms. I was happy that that rescue had been easy. I was afraid that the others would not be.   
  
Chase giggled at the sensation of flying as I snatched him. I turned the horse so quickly that I nearly fell off. I righted myself as we thundered toward Old Ilea. She held out her arms and caught Chase instantly, and with surprising strength. Chase squealed in delight.  
  
Then all hell broke loose.   
  
The Outriders came at me with their swords drawn. Their leader shouted instructions to his men, apparently forgetting that I could hear him too. I smiled at the men surrounding me and kicked the horse forward.   
  
"Don't hurt my horse!" I at least had some protection then. The men who I was charging jumped out of the horse's path before they impaled it. Unfortunately, they did not have orders not to hurt me.   
  
As we galloped past, somebody grabbed my left leg and pulled. I flew off the horse and into the waiting arms of the Outriders. The inertia that I gained while airborne propelled the Outrider and me backwards a few feet. Even still, the Outrider retained his grip on me.   
  
I looked up at him. My mind was still clouded with all the confusing things that had happened…Sienna dead by an Outrider knife…Chase being rescued…Aretha and Leone still on their horses…my fall from the horse…killing a man…Sienna throwing the knife… My face was streaked with tears, I think. I was so angry at the unfairness of what had happened that all my fear was suddenly gone, replaced by pure, driving anger. I had to do something.   
  
I bit the man who held me.   
  
"Little minx! Shit! She bit me!" his fellows sniggered at his predicament. I had bitten the arm that was closest to my head. I believe that I had actually drawn blood. In any case, the man dropped me promptly.   
  
At first I lay there, so startled at me new situation that I didn't fully comprehend what had happened. Then I realized: I was free! I rolled over and stood up.   
  
I ran.   
  
"Aretha, Leone, c'mon!" Then I noticed the knifepoint that was digging into my back.   
  
"I don't think so, little lady."   
  
"Damn." The man dug the knife a little deeper into my back, and he laughed as I yelped and cursed.   
  
"Get me some rope." The Outrider grasped both my small ones in his own and tightly wrapped the rope around them.  
  
"Ow!" I complained. He laughed derisively again.   
  
"It's not supposed to be pleasant, twit." He tied the knot tightly.   
  
"I take offense to that!" of course I couldn't do anything about it, and he knew it too.   
  
"What would you rather have me call you? Lady? Princess? Queen?" He snorted with laughter. "Or I could even call you Runner, you seem to be as lithe as they are." He laughed again.  
  
"It would be the truth…"I muttered to myself.   
  
"What was that?" Oops, he had heard me.   
  
"Nothing. I didn't say anything. I sang something." I remembered the song that I had been singing when Sienna found me. Oh, Sky, Sienna. I felt a hot tear trickle down my face. I sniffed angrily, wishing I could brush it away.   
  
"Sing it for me." I still hadn't seen my captor. I wondered why.   
  
"I can't sing while I'm crying." I sniffed again, as another tear ran down my cheek.   
  
"Well stop crying!" he sounded angry.   
  
"Ahem." I cleared my throat. A silence fell over the assembled people. The townsfolk and the Outriders alike waited to see what would happen. I didn't see why it was so big of a deal, but then again, maybe I did. It might be a life and death situation for me.   
  
"Hurry up and sing, wench! I won't wait all day."   
  
I sniffed one more time and began.   
  
"Skies of blue  
  
So pretty and bold  
  
Spread before me  
  
As my future unfolds  
  
I'm free as the wind  
  
And as happy as the song  
  
If I run where I want  
  
I'll arrive before long!"   
  
"Very good. You have a lovely singing voice." He turned away from me, I know because his next words were muffled. "Outriders to the ready!" I saw the men in front of me mount their horses. My captor picked me up and set me on his horse as if I weighed nothing. Then he climbed up behind me. "Outriders, move out!"   
  
I noticed we were riding the same horse that I had tried to make an escape on. It had to be the commander of the squad that I was riding with. My situation was ever getting better.   
  
My hands were tied behind my back and whenever the canter threw me back into my captor, my hands would rub up against him. I was fairly certain that he was getting some sort of perverted pleasure out of it. The next time I was thrown back, I helped inertia along and slammed against him.   
  
"Damn you!" He moaned in pain. "Halt!" He called out loudly. When his men looked at him with questions in their eyes, he said, "I have to go tame this wild mare." His men guffawed loudly, and the two who were carrying Leone and Aretha before them pulled the girls closer to them.   
  
"Stay here. Make camp. We're in Lamar now anyway." He pulled me down and I got a look at his face. He was handsome- and surprisingly young. He had unruly black hair and cold black eyes. He didn't have a beard, as most of the older men did.   
  
"We're in Lamar?" I wasn't happy about that prospect.  
  
"Yes, now don't struggle. You could hurt yourself. Oh- please don't bite me." He laughed at this. I didn't find it funny.   
  
"Why are you looking for a Runner?" I was curious as to why this band of Outriders were looking for me, instead of the ones that I'd escaped.   
  
"Because the Ninth Riding is looking for her. It seems that she knows something about the war." War? What war? His hands had a good grip on my right arm and leg as he carried me through the forest.   
  
I asked him. "What war?"   
  
"The war with Syrlan of course. The Runner apparently has knowledge of how to win the war." I did? Oh. That was news to me.   
  
"But…but…" I was really confused now. I didn't have any knowledge of how to win the war! I didn't even know that there was a war!  
  
"But what?" He started to look impatient.   
  
"But, I don't know your name!" I quickly improvised.   
  
"Why should I tell you?" Now he looked suspicious and impatient, which seemed to spell trouble for me.   
  
"Because I can't keep calling you 'You', can I?" I closed my eyes, praying he would answer me.   
  
"I'm uh…Dominick. Uh…just call me Dom." I wasn't sure if that was his real name or not, but it got us away from our previous topic of discussion. "And what's your name? I could keep calling you twit if you prefer of course," he added when I started to protest. "Tell me your real name," he said, almost crushing me.   
  
"I'm Liana." I said sullenly. He smiled.   
  
"Well, Liana, don't run away, now!" He smiled cheerfully as he spread his cloak out on the ground. As if I could run away. I couldn't even get up!   
  
Smiling like a cat who swallowed the canary, Dom tied my hands to two different trees. Then he did the same thing to my feet. This was scaring me a lot. Suddenly I had a perfect understanding of how he was going to 'tame' me.   
  
My fear must have showed on my face because he smiled tenderly down at me.   
  
"Liana, my dove, don't be frightened. I'll be gentle. This is your first time, isn't it?" I nodded slightly. He leaned forward and brushed a strand of short brown hair off my left cheek and kissed me gently. I closed my eyes and sank into the warmth of his mouth on mine, his body lying next to my (thankfully, still clothed) body.   
  
He must have opened his eyes at some point during the kiss because he cried out and violently pushed himself away from me, his hand touching the spot where I knew the mark was.   
  
"You're a Runner? I don't believe this… Oh, Sky! I almost bedded a Runner!" He stared at me as if I was a demon. If I could have, I would have dug a hole for myself to crawl into.   
  
He looked at my hair, my clothes, and my small build. "You're the Runner that The Ninth Riding is looking for. OhdearSky!" I nodded slowly again, uncomprehending as to why he could not bed a Runner. Not that I wanted him to, but it was another question that I had.   
  
So I asked it. His response was in a flat voice.   
  
"I, or any other man serving in the ranks of the Outriders of Lamar, am not allowed to hold any fond feelings for the Runners, or to approach them in a more than business-like way." He sat down. "Its part of the treaty that Lamar has with Syrlan. And it's in the contract…I just…can't." He whispered, his eyes roaming freely over my body.   
  
"That's fine with me." I said softly, which caused him to look at me and laugh weakly.   
  
"Now, to tame you." his eyes took on a glint which truly inspired fear. He took a knife out of his pocket and cut a branch off the nearest tree. It was green wood and still flexible. I winced; I had been punished with a whipping before, when I broke Mother's best set of glassware by throwing it at Jake's head. Then Dom started to speak. Each word was punctuated by a bite from his switch.   
  
"You-are-the-one-we-have-been-looking-for. You-will-pay-for-eluding-the-Ninth-Riding. You-will-tell-us-what-you-know-about-everything." I remained silent through out all of his beating, finally sinking into unconsciousness from the pain.  
  
I created a world for myself where there was only me. I ran through the wheat fields, cavorting and singing without a care in the world. Nymphs and fairies, sprites and pixies joined me in my world, creating a harmonious counterpoint to my lilting tune.   
  
I ponderously noticed another human running beside me. Happily, I noted it was Sienna.   
  
"Go back! Syrlan needs you. Forget about Aretha and Leone. Forget about me! Go to Mirkyn. The King needs to know the information you carry!" Her face was worried, and I stopped my happy singing.   
  
"But what do I know?" I wondered out loud.   
  
"You are the key to opening the Kirin Gardens."   
  
"What're the Kirin Gardens?" I was fairly sure that I had never heard of them before. Sienna looked frightened.   
  
"The Kirin Gardens are the place where Matthias prayed to Sky to define the process of choosing the Runners. Now, whenever there is need, a Runner of Sky's choosing goes there to find what is needed to save Syrlan. The King knows what Syrlan needs."   
  
"But… but…" I protested weakly. "How can I be of Sky's choosing? I mean I'm a captive and I'm being beaten by a man who wanted to bed me before he knew who…what I was…am!" As I mentioned this, I felt myself being pulled back towards where I was lying on the earthly plane. "How do I know?"   
  
"Because I chose you." The last thing I saw before I was drawn back into my body was Sienna's body changing into the image that I had seen Sky's Chosen carrying with them. Then all I knew was blackness…   
  
~~  
  
A/N: Hey, thanks for reviewing all! Love those reviews...:) I think Liana needs a friend...one that won't die right away. Hmm? I don't know, what do you think? Tell me.   
  
Black Jaguar- i like that idea, and i think i'll use it. thank you! now all i have to do is decide what to take from what. hmm....any suggestions are nice, because i have no clue. (shows what kind of writer i am...heh heh) :^)  
  
Tallemera- thanks for reviewing... any favorite parts of stories would be helpful. like your fave. part from cinderella...sleeping beauty...ect...you get the point :)   
  
cheler- thank you! i'm going to ask you for your fave part from the fairy tales...whatever you like. :oP  
  
RaspberryGirl- this is fiction. i don't think its supposed to be too realistic, at least not in my mind. i'm not all that good with suspense, because i just want to get to the good part. if you have any more suggestions, please tell me! and the reason they slept, maybe i didn't illustrate this well enough, is that they were well hidden, the Outriders were getting drunk, and they hadn't slept in a LONG time. they needed rest. Also, they can run fairly quickly, so they were a pretty good distance away. More is explained in the following chapters....i think. (i hope) :D  
  
To All: i need your fave parts from fairy tales! tell me!!!!!!!!!  
  
(no flames, please...) 


	5. The Royals of Lamar

Disclaimer: Haha!! I can finally put a disclaimer up!(not that I haven't already...) Any Parts of Fairy Tales that you recognize are not mine. All the rest is!  
  
I flickered in and out of consciousness over the next few days, sometimes wishing I was dead, and other times hoping I was in the Kirin Gardens. Sometimes Sky would visit me, and comfort me, telling me stories about times of old, leaving me to a wonderfully restful spell of sleep. The day before I truly awoke, Sky came to me. We sat and talked in the field where I had first seen him.   
  
"My dear one, I will let you return to the world of the living shortly." He smiled at me.   
  
"I've been dead?" I asked curiously.  
  
"No, you have only been with me, and that is neither the world of the living or the dead." He looked at me again. "Do you know who you are?"  
  
"Yes…" I wondered why he was asking me this.   
  
"Well, you won't when you wake up. You will still look the same, but you will not know who you are. At least not when you are awake. When you are asleep, you will know who you are, and your importance to Syrlan. I warn you now, you will not remember anything of your past while you are awake."   
  
"Why?"  
  
"You are in Lamar, dear one, and they are the enemy of Syrlan. I know that I am not supposed to favor one of my children over the other in battle, but when it comes to one of my children being massacred, then I step in."  
  
"Syrlan will be massacred?" I was horrified.  
  
"Only if you do not find what the king says you need, what Syrlan needs."   
  
"If I don't know who I am, then how can I accomplish this?"   
  
"There is one amidst your enemies who will help you. He has respect for you."   
  
"He knows me?" I interrupted.   
  
Sky chuckled. "I believe he knows you only by reputation."   
  
"How will I know who this person is?"   
  
Sky reached over and touched the emblem of the Runners on my cheek. "It will burn," he said, "When you see him. That is how you will know." He smiled again, "He will help you remember who you are, when the need arises. He knows who you are. Now," Sky paused, "Is there anything you wish to know?"  
  
There were a lot of things that I wanted to know, like how the war started, why did Sienna have to die, would I die as a result of this, who was this mysterious person?  
  
"Easy, my chosen one, I am very sorry, but I must allow you only one question." He smiled sadly at me.   
  
So I asked the question that had been nagging at my mind, ever since I left Loren. "What happened to Jake?"   
  
Sky looked troubled. "The Ninth Riding caught up with him. He is in the palace where you are now. That is why you were not pursued. They have tortured him. They wanted information, but they got none. I am afraid that he has stepped beyond the limits of sanity, and he will soon be released from his pain."   
  
"He's going to die!" I was aghast with shock. I had left him in Loren to die? I felt even worse than before I asked my question.   
  
"Do not fear; he knew this would happen. I prepared him for it. He agreed with me to make this sacrifice for Syrlan- and you. He was happy to be able to help you like that. He told me to tell you that he's sorry for the incident at Loren." Sky looked amused and raised an eyebrow.  
  
I burst into tears at this. Sky gathered me into his arms and rocked me until I fell asleep in the field. Just as I closed my eyes on that plane, I opened them to the place where I had been lying for days.   
  
"Oh! She's awake!" I looked around the room in confusion. Where was I? I thought. Who was I?  
  
I heard clunking footsteps walking toward where I lay. "My dear Runner, a voice drawled, "Welcome to the Royal Palace at Kith. In case you do not know," the man said pompously, "Kith is the capitol city of Lamar." I looked up into a pair of sea green eyes, so filled with hatred and anger that I physically recoiled.   
  
"Who are you?" I managed to whisper.   
  
"I," said the man with an air of self-importance, "Am Crown Prince Alejandro. Who are you?"  
  
"I…I…" I stammered out, "I don't know." I shook my head, unable to break my gaze away from Alejandro's.  
  
"You don't know…hah! What a bunch of vulgar lies!" he threw up his hands dramatically.   
  
"Well, you see your highness, that was only one thing so it couldn't have been a bunch of vulgar…lies?" I trembled as Alejandro pulled a knife out of a belt sheath and held it to my throat.   
  
"You think to contradict a Prince? Stupid. Now tell me who you are, or I will cut your throat out here and now." He held the blade with a steady hand. I was quite sure he would cut my throat out too.   
  
"I told you, I don't know!" I practically screamed the last words at him.   
  
He laughed. "Oh, a feisty one, aren't we?" He tucked the knife back into his belt. A cruel smile played across his lips. "Well, I'll just go get Commander Dominick, maybe he could tell us who you are."   
  
I frowned. Who was this Commander Dominick? "Who's that?" I asked, my confusion evident on my face.   
  
That stopped the snotty Prince short.   
  
"He's the one who captured you," Alejandro said slowly, as if talking to a stupid person. "He's the one who helped your appearance with a beating." I reached a hand up to touch one of the numerous scabs on my face.  
  
"I'm not stupid, you know." Alejandro said impatiently. "I know you know who you are, and who Commander Dominick is. Do you need some persuasion?" He reached for the hilt of the rapier hanging at his side.   
  
"No, I don't." Alejandro looked happy, and the smile played across his mouth again. "I can't tell you who I am, because I don't know. If I did know, I still wouldn't tell you. Why are you so interested in me? Tell me that." I pulled the light sheet that I had been clutching in my hands up to my chin.   
  
"Stupid, stupid. Do you want to die?" he laughed, and I could hear he malice in it. "You are the one who knows how to win the war with Syrlan."   
  
"How do you know that I'm the one to do that?" I was seriously confused. Along with not being able to remember who I was, I didn't know why I was so important.  
  
"Our Foreseer saw a girl in her mirror who had short brown hair, like yours, a small stature, like yours, grey eyes the color of a storm, like yours, and the mark of the runner upon her left cheek." Alejandro stared at me with his sea green eyes, "A girl, who looks exactly like you."  
  
"You forgot one thing, dear brother of mine," a new voice drawled in the doorway, "You forgot the mark on her left palm, the mark of a key." I looked at the speaker, a woman, dressed in flowing robes of cream colored satin.   
  
Alejandro grabbed my left wrist and pulled me toward him. He stared at my bandaged hand, and then glared at me, as if it was my fault. Hastily, he cut the bandages off. "It really is there!"   
  
"Would you doubt my word, Andro?" She walked over to where I was lying. "Hello, ragamuffin Runner, what is your name?"  
  
"I can't remember." She hit me. "That's not helping."   
  
"Andro, got get Commander Dominick!" The crown prince went. "Now, tell me again, what is your name?" a spiteful smile twisted her perfect face. "I am Princess Eleanora, the second child of King Griffith and Queen Isabelle. Now that I have told you my name, tell me yours."   
  
"I really wish I could, but unfortunately, I can't tell you because I don't know it!" I glared back at her as she hit me again. "Didn't your precious little Foreseer tell you this mysterious girl's name as well?"   
  
The Princess looked rather angry, "No," she said in a tight voice.   
  
"May I present Commander Dominick of the Seventh Riding." Princess Eleanora spun around and smiled at him.   
  
"Welcome, Commander. Now," she glanced over her shoulder at me, "Can you tell me who this is?"   
  
Dominick walked over to me and looked at me. "Can't say that I have, you Highness. I know I brought her in and all, but I don't think I ever got her name."   
  
"What?" Princess Eleanora's voice was cold and deadly. Dominick blanched.  
  
"I… I… I'm sorry to have failed you Princess." Dominick bowed low.  
  
"Andro! Get over here! I want this man beheaded at once for treason!" The Princess glared at me. "And after Cedric talks to her, do something with her to get her out of my sight!"   
  
"Eleanora, my sister, we cannot have Commander Dominick beheaded on your whim." Alejandro put a comforting arm around his sister, who turned and buried her face in his shoulder. Alejandro motioned for Dominick to get out. The Commander to his chance and left. "Dominick is a valued Commander who we cannot afford to lose. Now, about the girl…after Cedric sees her, I think I will-"   
  
Eleanora cut him off. "You will lock her up in the West Tower." I saw Eleanora's lips twist once again into that cruel smile, "Give the key to Cedric, he will make sure she does not escape unscathed."   
  
I shivered involuntarily. This was taking a decidedly morbid twist.   
  
A/N: Hey, thanks for reviewing!!! i think i actually know where i'm going now. There will be some Rapunzel, and some of Beauty and The Beast (i think)! Yay! anyway...i want to get a lot done before i have to go back to school :( and i still have one vacation..so keep reviewing and i will keep writing as fast as i can! (on microsoft word, i already have 25 pages. That makes me happy!)  
  
*smiles* 


	6. A Royal Parade

Disclaimer: I know what story(s) i'm following! yay! and i didn't write them somebody i never knew wrote them....ha ha. if you don't recognize it, then it's probably mine!   
  
They dragged me up endless amounts of stairs; 'they' being the palace guards that Princess Eleanora summoned. I had no idea why they dragged me, I would have walked to save all of us the discomfort. Then again, maybe it was for the show; we had 'paraded' through the palace with Princess Eleanora and Prince Alejandro leading the way.   
  
Once we were out of the public eye, Alejandro and Eleanora left our presence.  
  
"Hey, c'mon, you take some weight too!" The guards started bickering amongst themselves as soon as the two royals were out of sight.   
  
"I am! You aren't!" I snorted derisively at this demonstration, and one of the guards kicked me.   
  
"Ow!" I scowled as best I could at the two guards.   
  
"Shut up." I did.   
  
They ended up locking me in a room that had only a single window. There was one door, but once it was shut, I couldn't see it. I was stuck. Once the guards had dumped me on the floor and locked the door behind them, I inched my way over to the small cot lying in the corner. I lay down and closed my eyes, drifting slowly into sleep…  
  
I knew who I was! I was Liana Fairchild, daughter of Mrana Fairchild, the seamstress. I was a Runner of Syrlan…Sky's Chosen…I had to get to the King! Who was the man who was supposed to know who I was? How could I find him? I was Liana!  
  
I jerked back into confusion when something hit me. The knowledge that I had remembered in my short sleep was lost…Once more, I did not know who I was. I was just a nameless girl who was considered important to the winning of a war she knew nothing about.   
  
Something hit me again. It turned out it was a hand.   
  
That hand was connected to the most handsome man I had ever seen. My eyes widened in shock.   
  
"Who…who are you?" I managed to stammer out.   
  
"I should ask you," the handsome stranger said coldly.   
  
"If I knew, I would tell you." my ignorance of self seemed to make me very brazen.   
  
He laughed. "Shall I tell you who I am?" I nodded, wide-eyed and mute. "I am Prince Cedric, General of the Outriders of Lamar."  
  
"Aren't you a bit young to be a General?" The question popped out before I could stop it.   
  
"I suppose by some standards I am, but my experience exceeds my years. Now," He paused and frowned, "Have I seen you somewhere?"   
  
I raised an eyebrow in question, "You expect me to know? I don't even know who I am!" I laughed at him, which was a mistake.   
  
Smack (!) went his hand across my face.   
  
I could feel my cheek stinging-and the mark burning. "That hurt!"   
  
His handsome face twisted into a malevolent sneer. "So? You think you can just get away with lies, impertinence, and disrespect? I think not!" His face became like a stone mask again. "You shall suffer the consequences." He walked to the center of the room and yelled, "Let me out!" A door opened and he stepped out, waving to me as he left.   
  
"Why can't I remember?" I whispered to myself. I hugged my knees tightly to my body and cried my self to sleep. I remembered again.   
  
The mark- it had burned! That meant that the cruel (but handsome) Cedric was the one who knew! He knew who I was, and he could help me! Then, I realized that this was the same man who was basically threatening to kill me. I hoped that I could remember this bit of information past sleep…  
  
A/N: i realize that this was a short chapter. I just felt that where i stopped was a good place to stop. Also, i just didn't feel like writing a whole lot more to that chapter! heh heh...i won't update until i get at least four reviews... (well, maybe sooner...) anyway...i hope that you had fuin reading this ultra short chapter.   
  
Any ideas as to what Cedric looks like? Suggestions Please! (which means you have to review so :oP) Any ideas how old i should make my characters? i don't believe that i mentioned how old anybody is, except for Sienna...anyway, i was thinking that Liana is around !7, and Cedric is 2, 3 years older than her? What do you think? (Romance should be coming soon. i promise!)   
  
*smiles* 


	7. Schemes and Dreams

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
"Oh hello, my little prisoner!" I looked up into the blue eyes of Princess Eleanora. "Have we decided to remember our name yet?"   
  
I looked at her, and then pulled the sheet back up over my head. I wanted to go back to sleep, since I was still tired and she had woken me up.   
  
"Ah, ah, ah! No going back to sleep my little Runner!" She laughed and pulled the sheet off the bed. I was going to have to wake up.   
  
"What do you want?" I asked, glaring at the blonde-beauty.   
  
"Your name," she said, blue ice turning hard.   
  
I ran a hand through my tangled brown hair. "Sorry, I still can't remember."   
  
"Oh really? You expect me to believe that? Hah!" She twirled around, skirts flowing. "You will tell me someday, I know you will." She looked me over, her eyes taking in what I was wearing, my hair and everything else about me all at once. "We'll need to get you some new clothes, that's for sure. I think that some black will do nicely. Maybe some hunter green gowns as well…"   
  
"Why are you planning all these new clothes for me?" Usually, prisoners did not get treated to new outfits by their captors.   
  
"Because I want everyone to be able to see my handiwork. You will be attending Alejandro's Coronation with me. I am presenting you as a gift to him. You must look good, of course. Otherwise no one will think that you are what I say you are, and we can't have them doubting the word of the Princess." So lost was she in her musings that she didn't notice Cedric come in.   
  
"Eleanora!" He barked, "Get out!"   
  
"C-Cedric! What're you doing in here?" Eleanora had frozen where she stood.   
  
"I should ask you the same question." Cedric stared at his sister, one eyebrow raised.   
  
"I was outfitting the prisoner for Alejandro's Coronation. She will be going to the Ball as your escort beforehand." Eleanora regained her composure quickly, it seemed.   
  
"She does not need new clothes. What she has on is fine!" Cedric threw his hands up in the air and looked at me.   
  
Now it was Eleanora's turn to give Cedric a wither glare. "Shows what you know. That wouldn't be suitable for rags, much less for your escort." Cedric blanched.   
  
"I'm going to the Ball? I have to take an escort?" He stared at me. "I have to take her?"   
  
"Yes," Eleanora said triumphantly. "That is what you must do. Now," she turned to me, "You will have a hunter green dress for the ball, and a black gown for the Coronation. The rest I will discuss with Mother. I will have something more…covering for you to wear by tonight." Eleanora spun around and pulled a lock of Cedric's black hair and yelled, "Open up!", and left the room.   
  
Cedric stood there, a surprised look on his face.   
  
"Why do I have to go to the Ball?" I asked him in a small voice.   
  
"Because…Because Eleanora is making me go too."   
  
"Oh." I sighed. "I can't dance, you know."   
  
"That's okay, neither can I." I laughed softly, and he looked up. "What?"   
  
"You're a Prince, shouldn't you be able to waltz perfectly across the floor with the lady of your choice?" I sat with my arms curled around my legs, my chin resting lightly on my knees.   
  
"I will, at least that's what the Foreseer said." I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Now what?" he asked rather irritably.   
  
"Who is this damned Foreseer?"   
  
"I am she." I almost fell off the cot with shock. Where had that voice come from? "I am right here, child of my Prophecies." I looked at the mirror. There, encased in a gilt frame, was a woman dressed in a gown that seemed made of stars.   
  
"Oh, I see now," I said shakily. Cedric sat back with a smug look on his face.   
  
"A damned Foreseer I may be, but fickle is he." A ghostly thin hand pointed at Cedric.   
  
"Excuse you! I wish you would not repeat such stuff in front of prisoners!" He sat up, indignant.   
  
The Foreseer giggled. "Prisoner of stone is she, but prisoner of heart is he."   
  
"Just shut up," Cedric grumbled. "And stop all the rhyming! I know you like to impress others, but just stop."   
  
"Fine," she said with a sniff, "I will." She turned to me. "Child of my Prophecies, I am the Foreseer of Lamar."   
  
"I would tell you my name if I knew it, but I don't. Anyway, I'm pleased to meet you." I smiled at the mirror.   
  
"Prince Cedric!" The little woman in the mirror rounded on Cedric, "You haven't given her your name for her yet? Your little pet name? The one you call her in private? Or hasn't that come to pass yet?" The little woman looked a little confused. "Yes, I remember now! You called her your little Sparrow last night while you were consulting me. Something about your love life, or was it your hair? I don't remember, anyway, it's not important. What? Why are you blushing so red like that, Cedric?" The little woman was right: Cedric's face was scarlet.   
  
"Is that my name then?" I asked. "Then I shall be Sparrow. Cedric?" I turned to him.   
  
"Yes?" he said, his face going even redder, "Wait, I know why you want to know why I was talking about you. I was talking about you because…because…" I nodded to keep him going. "Because I was telling the mirror about a pretty prisoner that I was in charge of." He said in a rush.   
  
"Wow. Okay then." I was startled. No one had ever called me pretty before, not even my mother. I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes. "Do you really think I'm pretty?"   
  
"Yes, I said I did, didn't I?" He glared at the woman in the mirror, who had been giggling uncontrollably. "Shut up!" he turned to me again, "Do you like the name Sparrow?" he asked shyly.   
  
"Yes. I think it is fine. It suits me, anyway!" when he looked at me quizzically, I explained. "I'm small and brown. Like sparrows." I touched my short brown hair, "See?"   
  
"Sparrow is your name, and…and…oh dear. I don't know. You're right, Cedric-dear; I should stop trying to rhyme. I'm getting to old for this." She sighed. "I think I'll go take my afternoon nap now. Cedric, come give your Grandmother a kiss now."   
  
Cedric got up and walked over to the mirror. "Have a nice nap, Grandmother." He kissed it gently, and then draped a midnight blue cloth over the mirror.   
  
"She's your Grandmother?" I was stunned.   
  
"Yeah, I mean, Yes," he hastily corrected himself, "She was Queen Xanon, married to Adamon the Peacemaker." He looked at the mirror, "Now she is just the Foreseer."   
  
Suddenly I was very tired. I yawned, and my eyes started to flutter closed…  
  
"Sparrow?" I looked up, "Good night." Cedric was sitting slumped in his chair, eyes closed. It appeared that I was not the only one who was suddenly exhausted.   
  
"Night…" I murmured. My eyes closed and I slipped into blissful sleep. As my eyes closed in the physical world, I woke up in Sky's realm.   
  
"Liana, my chosen one, come here." I ran into Sky's open arms, hugging him tightly.   
  
"Sky! I have found the one who will help me! His name is Cedric, and…and…" I stopped because Sky was laughing.   
  
"Yes I know my chosen!"   
  
I stopped laughing and sighed. "He's so handsome, he's a lot like Alejandro…green eyes, black hair…except Cedric, and oh Cedric is so much more handsome…" I trailed off, letting a dreamy expression slide onto my face.  
  
"Chosen, I am glad you like him. I believe that he is enamored of you too. I made it so." Sky stroked my hair in a fatherly manner.   
  
"You made me like him? What!" I am not one to be easily manipulated. "But…but..." I sputtered angrily.   
  
"Yes, I knew you would not like it, but you'll grow used to it."   
  
"But I thought I was supposed to fall in love! I need to know it's real, and not…not…fake." I expelled all the breath that I had been holding angrily.   
  
"Oh, trust me, my chose, it's not fake." Sky looked smug. "My helper, come here."   
  
"Yes, Sky, what would you have me do?" Cedric said pleasantly.   
  
"Meet the one who you are supposed to protect." Sky shoved me into Cedric's line of vision.   
  
"Sparrow? But…but…" Cedric stared, mouth agape.   
  
"Yes, me." I glared at him. "Are you disappointed? I thought your little grandmother-Foreseer told you it would be me?" I was still nettled from what Sky had told me about his meddling, and I was taking it out on Cedric.   
  
"Oh, I knew that," Cedric scoffed, "But I just didn't expect to see you here."   
  
I rolled my eyes, "Why wouldn't I be here? You heard what Sky called me: his chosen!"   
  
"Well, fine then. Maybe I won't protect you, if you're going to be that way." Cedric turned around and started to walk away.   
  
"Ah, ah, ah!" Sky pushed him back toward me. "You stay and make a plan. I need 'Sparrow' in Syrlan before Beltaine."   
  
Cedric's mouth hung open. "Beltaine! But that's a two days after Alejandro's Ball!"   
  
"I know, and it's your job to get her there." Sky pushed us both down so that we sat facing each other.   
  
"Sky, why should Cedric help me?" I asked. It didn't make sense: Cedric was from Lamar and I was from Syrlan. Wouldn't Cedric want Lamar to win? I would indubitably help Syrlan to win.   
  
"Yeah, why should I?" Cedric looked frightened that he had just questioned a god.   
  
"Because if you don't, all will be lost: Alejandro, Eleanora, the Foreseer, and eventually all of Lamar." Sky turned to me. "You will cooperate with him from now on, you know, whether you like it or not. Or," Sky amended, "Only when it suits my purpose."   
  
"Fine. Just don't make me do anything stupid." I though of another question, "When will I remember who I am again, in the physical world?"   
  
"When you have both feet on the way to Mirkyn." Sky smiled at Cedric, "Now, you will have to wake up, both of you. Someone will be missing and suspecting something soon."  
  
"Sky, can you tell me Sparrow's name?" Cedric sounded as if he was awkward using my assumed name in front of me, when I knew who I was.  
  
"No, my helper, I cannot." Sky smiled, "You will know it someday, do not fear. As for now, it remains best that you keep calling my chosen Sparrow."   
  
"Yes, sir." Cedric bowed his head and closed his eyes. He was gone with a small pop.   
  
"Now, Liana, it is your turn. Trust me," Sky patted my head, "I have nothing to do with what goes on in your heart. I just happen to have employed the Foreseer in helping me to determine the best candidate for my helper."   
  
"Sky," my brow furrowed in thought, "How will I find the Kirin Gardens?"   
  
"I will instruct you the closer that you get. Now it is truly time for you to wake up," Sky said with a slight frown. He gently reached over and closed my eyes. "He will hurt you, dear one, but true and you will succeed in more ways than one."   
  
I slipped back into the physical world, and screamed.   
  
a/n: yippee! this chapter is up! Unfortunately, it is thursday, which means that i am going away before i can get another chapter done. sad isn't it? i'll try to right while i am computer deprived. Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed! *hugs* this chapter is longer. I'll try to make up for my away time with an extra long chapter and hope fully some real romance (yes, tally, it's coming.) anyway....review this time too! i love my reviews...i want at least five by the time i get back...that gives you a week or so!   
  
cherry chica thanks for your reviews...and your praise! it makes me feel so special! and to answer a question- Sky made Dom forget so he couldn't reveal Liana.   
  
Review!!! All!!!! Review Crazy me wants somemores reviews!!!!! :o) 


	8. Pins and Needles

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
"What have you done to him?" I looked up the spear that was pointing at me and whimpered.   
  
"T-t-to who?" I shrank back, terrified of the sharp metal object that was inching ever closer to my throat.   
  
"The Prince!" The man holding the spear said this as if I should have known.   
  
"Which Prince?" I was so bold as to ask.   
  
"Prince Cedric, of course! He's the one lying there and not waking up!" The armed man poked me with the tip of the spear.   
  
"Cedric! Is he dead?" I tried to see, but the man was in my way, and blocking me from everything else in the tower room.   
  
"I don't know!" he glowered at me, "But you would, wouldn't you?"   
  
"N-no," I stuttered. "Can I see him?"   
  
"If you promise to undo what you did. It's been half a day since he came in." The man let me get up and walk over to Cedric.   
  
He was lying there, in all his handsome splendor. A lock of raven hair had settled across his forehead in an untidy fashion. His lips were parted slightly. He looked like a dream.   
  
I stared at him disinterestedly. "He looks like he's sleeping," I commented. Seemingly to punctuate my statement, Cedric snored long and loud. "See?" I said in a tone that said 'I-told-you-so'.  
  
"Then wake him up," the guard growled at me.   
  
I rolled my eyes and shook Cedric's shoulder. He only snored louder. I bit my lip in panic. I shook him harder, and whispered, "Cedric!" I leaned in closer to his ear, "Cedric!" I said a bit louder.   
  
The guardsman chuckled behind me, "I knew you couldn't do it, at least, not without your magic," he chuckled darkly, and whacked me on the back.   
  
I'm pretty sure it was meant to be a pat, but it was of no consequence. The force of the blow sent me careening into Cedric.   
  
My lips touched his ear.   
  
Cedric opened his green eyes and yawned. "Well, how long was it- Sparrow!" His eyes opened wide in surprise. I wondered why, until I noticed the position we were in.  
  
I was lying on top of him, my arms around his neck from trying to break my fall.   
  
"Erm," I stuttered embarrassedly. I pushed myself off of Cedric and glared at the guardsman. "Sorry, your highness."   
  
"Sparrow, just don't do it again," Cedric said with a sigh. I scrambled back over to my cot with a nod and curled up there. We sat in silence for a few minutes until the guardsman returned, even though I hadn't seen him leave.   
  
He returned with a majestic woman.   
  
"Cedric my darling! I was so afraid for you! Asleep for hours under her spell, witch." The woman glowered at me.   
  
"Mother, calm down, I'm fine." Cedric placed a placating hand on her arm.   
  
"Humph." The Queen said derisively, although she did not pursue the matter. "Guardsman!"   
  
The man walked over and bowed, "Yes, my Queen?"   
  
"Take this prisoner," she spat in disgust, "To my daughter Eleanora's chambers. Make certain that you retain full guard over her." The Queen waved her hand imperiously.   
  
"Come here, prisoner!" The guard motioned for me. I went.   
  
"Sparrow-" Cedric made a move to get up, but his mother pushed him back down.   
  
"Don't move until I have had the Healer ascertain that you are healthy." Cedric rolled his eyes and sat back stiffly.   
  
Trembling, I got up and walked over to the man at arms. "Don't hurt me," I muttered under my breath. He tied my hands together with rope so tightly that I squirmed in pain.  
  
"Stop moving!" My efforts to get comfortable earned me a slap upside the head. Next came my ankles. By the time the man was through, I couldn't stand, I couldn't talk and I couldn't move. It was altogether uncomfortable.   
  
I held my silence, under glares from the Queen, curious glances from the Prince, and leers from the guardsman.   
  
The guardsman picked me up and carried me down a winding flight of stairs. With every step he took, his shoulder blade dug into my shoulder, and I gasped. It seemed to take an eternity until we got to Eleanora's rooms.   
  
"Oh! My prisoner!" Eleanora fluttered around the room, while the guard still held me on his shoulder. I could feel all the blood rushing to my head. Spots started to explode before my eyes.   
  
I was dropped on the floor with a thump that jerked me back to reality.   
  
"Mmph!" I said in protest.   
  
"Shove it," came the reply.   
  
"Guard! Untie her at once!" Eleanora demanded loudly. I waited patiently as he cut the ropes that bound me. The last thing to come off was the gag, and I made sure to spit insolently in the guardsman's face.   
  
"Hey!" He cursed and swiped at me. I looked innocently at him  
  
"That's enough of that!" Eleanora said primly as she dragged me to my feet. "Stand there." She turned to the guard and said pointedly, "You're dismissed."   
  
I was standing on a block of wood. It held me about a foot off the ground. "Um," I murmured, "What're you going to do with me?"   
  
"Never you mind that!" Eleanora twittered happily. I didn't like the sound of that. "Ladies!" she called in a singsong voice.   
  
Instantly, four determined looking women surrounded me. I smiled weakly at them, but they only glared back.   
  
First they took my measurements, making choice comments at everything.   
  
"My what a small waist, is she anorexic?" or: "What thin hips! Are you sure she's a girl?" I was back to the gender problem again.   
  
Another favorite was: "A small bust line: she's either a he or still a child." Well, I was fairly certain that I wasn't a male, and I had turned seventeen earlier that spring, so I figured that I wasn't a child either.   
  
"She certainly has long arms; I wonder if she's an ape?" I just forced a smiled a tried not to kick them.   
  
In a few hours, they had the dress I was to wear for the ball.   
  
It was a dark green, and very simple, and yet elegant. I loved it. I had never worn a dress before. I had always just run about wild with the boys, in their kinds of clothes.   
  
Now I had a dress. I was all-powerful. I was feminine.   
  
"OW!" One of the seamstresses had jabbed me with one of her pins. She giggled dementedly. A few minutes later, another one did it. I cursed at her until Eleanora intervened.   
  
"Now, now," she trilled, "That's no way for a lady to behave."   
  
I grumbled and made a face. She just laughed. Therefore, I endured the pin pricking for another hour before the dress was complete and properly fitted. In the end, it was all worth it.   
  
"Oh you look beautiful! Now, for the other dress," I blanched. Another dress?  
  
"M-m-more?"   
  
"Of course silly!" Eleanora giggled. "This one will be black, I think."   
  
Another two hours, this time, of pinpricking. No, it was more like stabbing. I was in pain, and no longer smiling when the next marathon session of dress fitting went on.   
  
In the end, I looked good.   
  
From listening to the small talk of the seamstresses, I gleaned that Alejandro would become King right after the ball, at twelve midnight precisely. I was to be presented to him as a gift from Eleanora. I also learned that the ball was tonight.   
  
I was redressed in the green dress after a long, hot bath. It felt good to be clean again.   
  
Eleanora did what she could with my shoulder length hair. She swept it into a simple knot at the nape of my neck. She left one tendril hanging down on the side of my face.   
  
She put face paint on me as well, red lip paint, a light line of kohl around my eyes, and grey eye shadow. She brushed my cheeks with rouge. For the final touch, she twisted emeralds into my hair.   
  
I managed to walk over to the mirror without tripping. I looked at my reflection. I looked stunning. Not to sound conceited, but I did. Eleanora had done her job well. I looked somehow older and more sophisticated. In short, I was beautiful.   
  
I whirled around, and stubbed my bare toe on a chair. I cursed under my breath and hopped up and down.   
  
"Oh! You need shoes! Of course!" Eleanora brought out a pair of tiny shoes that were completely transparent.   
  
"What are those?" I asked dubiously.   
  
"Diamond shoes. Shoes made of the purest diamonds." She said proudly. "They have been in the family for generations, and they're priceless."   
  
"Then why are you letting me wear them?" I raised one eyebrow ever so slightly.   
  
"Because the Foreseer said you should." Well, that explained it. The people here seemed to be at the beck and call of a woman in a mirror. I slipped one shoe on my foot and stood on it gingerly. I put the other one on and walked daintily across the room to a comfortable chair. As soon as I sat down, Eleanora smiled.   
  
"Don't sit down! It's time to go! It's half past the eighth hour already!" So I stood up and walked over to her as if I were on hot coals.   
  
"Alright, then, let's go." I was surprised that I was still upright. "Are you sure that these things won't break?" I asked her, motioning toward my feet.  
  
"Of course they won't! They're diamonds! Hardest thing known to humans you know." She smiled and grabbed my hand. "Come on!"   
  
I was going to a Lamaran Royal Ball. Me, a Syrlandan peasant!   
  
a/n: next chapter here...i know it wasn't a whole lot of action, but i think you will be satisfied in the next few chapters. for all of you who read my warning: have no fear, empty threat.   
  
oooh i love writing!!!!!! would any of you like to see a certain something in this story? you have three wishes...well probably a whole lot more than 3, but anyway....review it please! tell me what you think. good/bad are both welcome. i now have 36 mw pages!!!! happy happy!!!   
  
now reviewreviewreviewreview!!!!!!  
  
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	9. Moolit Hearts

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
We stepped out of Eleanora's room together. Cedric and a man I didn't recognize were waiting for us.   
  
The unknown man smiled at Eleanora, "My Princess, you look absolutely ravishing in that gown." He was right, too. The deep shade of blue accentuated her eyes just so.   
  
Eleanora smiled prettily and giggled, "Lord Cameron, you flatterer!"   
  
He extended an arm to her, and said, "Shall we?" She took his arm and they walked off together.   
  
I turned to Cedric- and laughed. He was standing there looking utterly surprised, with his mouth hanging slightly open.   
  
"What?" I asked innocently.   
  
"Sp-Sparrow! You look, just, beautiful!" Cedric averted his eyes after he this.   
  
I smiled and blushed, "Thank you." I smiled again, "Close your mouth." He did with a nervous laugh.   
  
"Let's go," he said shakily. I took his hand and we proceeded to the ballroom. I was constantly afraid that the diamond shoes would give out and I would go crashing to the floor. After a few minutes of silent anxiety, we made it to the ballroom.   
  
"What shall I announce the lady as?" A stuffy herald asked us.   
  
"Announce us as Prince Cedric and Lady Sparrow." Cedric told the man in a haughty voice. "And make it quick, please."   
  
The man looked affronted, but announced us. "Announcing Prince Cedric of Lamar, Son of King Alejandro and Queen Lasiandra, younger brother to Crown Prince Alejandro and Princess Eleanora, General of the Lamaran Outriders, and his escort, Lady Sparrow."   
  
Cedric gave the man a dirty look as we passed, and I giggled. The whole room had stopped dancing and bowed to us. Once Cedric and I had reached the bottom of the stairs, however, everyone resumed dancing.  
  
"Would you like to dance?" Cedric asked me, avoiding my eyes.   
  
"Sure, why not," I replied diffidently. I caught his worried look as he glanced at me. I smiled deviously, and he smiled back.  
  
"Then let us dance."   
  
I was terrified that the stupid shoes I was wearing would shatter at any step. I must have been bracing myself on Cedric's arms, because he gave me a strange look.   
  
"Let up, will you?"   
  
I cringed inwardly, and said, "Sorry." I waltzed along, watching the other dancers.   
  
I saw Eleanora and her escort, Lord Cameron, the Queen and some minor noble flirting, and I saw Alejandro dancing with a Princess. I watched the Lords and Ladies swirl around in all their pretty clothes, the blues and greens, and purples and reds, and blacks and yellows and watched them spin around the room over Cedric's shoulder. It was all so beautiful   
  
"Stop staring," Cedric whispered in my ear.   
  
I grinned at him and closed my eyes. "Is that better?" I murmured back.   
  
"No!" He sounded annoyed. I opened my eyes and looked up at him.   
  
"How about this then," I said, "I just watch my feet so I don't trip."   
  
"How about we stop dancing so you can watch the dancers without seeming rude?" I nodded and we made our way off the dance floor, eager to sit down.   
  
Once I sat down, I felt much safer. I was quite sure that the shoes could not break if I wasn't standing on them. I had observed the guards dancing near us while we danced, and I was amused to see that they followed us to where we sat down.   
  
"Liana, come with me." Cedric took my hand and led me out of the ballroom. I noticed that the guards did not follow us after that.   
  
"Where are we going?" I asked as the wind caressed my cheek.   
  
"Shhh." He smiled at me, and his teeth were white in the semi-darkness. I followed him where he led me. Soon I began to smell something very recognizable: the stables.   
  
"Cedric, why are we at the stables?" His hand was warm around mine.   
  
"We aren't going to the stables."   
  
"We aren't?"   
  
"No, there is a garden over here that only the royal children have access to." He gripped my hand a little tighter. "Hurry," he murmured.   
  
I walked along faster, and then I stumbled. One of the diamond shoes had fallen off. "Cedric," I whispered, "Cedric, I lost a shoe!"   
  
"It's fine, somebody will find it later. You wouldn't be able to see the damn thing anyway, it's basically invisible at night." Cedric stopped, and let me take off the other shoe. "Give that one to me." I did.   
  
We continued along to the garden, me barefoot. Finally we arrived. My feet hurt like hell.   
  
"Can we sit?" I begged him.   
  
"Of course, Sparrow." We sat side by side on a suspended swing, rocking slowly back and forth. "Sparrow, one of my commanders, Dominick, told me that you have a lovely singing voice. Could you sing something for me?"   
  
I sighed. I didn't know any songs. Or, if I did, I couldn't remember them. "I don't know any songs, Cedric, I'm sorry." I watched his face fall in disappointment. "When I remember, I'll sing something for you."   
  
"Alright." He sighed, "I am glad to escape that ball. I hate these social engagements."  
  
"Me too; and I've only ever been to one. It's just too big." I settled back into the swing, and looked at the beautiful flowers all around.   
  
"Those are moonflowers." He said, touching a large white flower. "They only ever open at night." He brought one down close to my face, "Smell."   
  
I took a delicate sniff, then another longer one. "Ooh! They smell wonderful!"   
  
"You like them?" Cedric looked pleased, his face glowing in the wane moonlight.   
  
"Yes!" I smiled.   
  
"Oh." He smiled and plucked a smaller version of the flower he had shown me. With gentle hands, he tucked it behind my ear. "Beautiful," he murmured.  
  
I wasn't sure whether he was talking about the flower, me, or both. I could feel my heart speeding up at his proximity.   
  
"My little Sparrow," he said, as his fingers ran down the right side of my face. "So beautiful in the moonlight," he smiled at me. I felt the blood rushing to my face, and I smiled. His right hand came to rest on my left cheek, cupping it in his palm.   
  
"Cedric," I murmured, but that was all I got out. His left hand pulled me closer to him while his right tilted my face up to meet his. He kissed me with surprising tenderness, but as it continued on, it grew fiercer.   
  
I melted into his arms with no objections.   
  
Eventually, I put a hand between us and pushed him away. "Cedric," I breathed, just content to say his name. I met his sea-colored eyes and smiled warmly.   
  
Reassured, he smiled back. "Sparrow, oh Sparrow." Our lips met again in a more ardent kiss than before.   
  
"We should go back," I murmured to him.   
  
"We should," he agreed. Neither of us moved to get up from the swing.   
  
After delaying for a while longer, I got up and pulled him with me. "Come, they will suspect something." He laughed softly.   
  
"Then their suspicions would undoubtedly be coming true, eh?" He smiled and kissed me lightly once more before we began our walk back to the ballroom.   
  
We walked, yes, but it was punctuated by stolen kisses, and covert smiles. Along the way, I stumbled, literally, upon my other shoe. I picked it up and slipped it back on. Cedric helped me put the other one on my dirty foot.   
  
"A perfect fit," he said, "As if it were made for you!"   
  
I smiled and ruffled his hair. "We're near the stables again, aren't we?" I could smell it in the air.   
  
"Yes," he chuckled, "I can smell it too." He slipped an arm around my wais and pulled me closer. "One last kiss before we step into the light." I just smiled and complied.   
  
"Prince Cedric!" Cedric started at the unexpected interruption. Accidentally, he bit my lip. I cried out involuntarily at the sudden pain.   
  
"Is that Lady Sparrow?" It was not a voice that I recognized, but Cedric obviously did.   
  
"Commander Dominick, I assure you, I was doing nothing, uh, wrong." Cedric pushed me so that I was sheltered behind him.   
  
"Are you alright, my Prince? I know she bewitched you before, and we couldn't have it happen again."   
  
"But I'm not-"  
  
"That's what they all say, my Prince." The commander sounded very assured of himself. "Guards! Come escort the Lady," he snorted in contempt, "Sparrow back to where she can be observed and restrained until it is time for the Princess to present her."   
  
"No!" Cedric yelled. "No. I will not have it."   
  
"Once she is gone, everything will be alright." The Commander and the guards stepped closer.   
  
"Sparrow, run with me," he murmured.   
  
"Where?"   
  
"Just follow." He snatched my hand and ran toward the stables. I was pulled along behind him. Along the way, I lost another of the priceless shoes.   
  
Once we were in the stable, Cedric unbolted a stall door and bridled the stallion that was in it. Nimbly, he hopped on, leaving me stranded on the ground.   
  
"Take my hand!" I grabbed for Cedric's hand- and missed. The second time, I caught it. He hauled me in front of him with strength I hadn't known he possessed.   
  
I ended up sitting sidesaddle cradled in between Cedric's arms.   
  
"Get them! Get the girl away from the Prince!" The guards rushed in a few convenient moments after I was on the horse.   
  
"Yah!" Cedric kicked the horse and it surged forward. A stable boy looked up sleepily and screamed as he saw the stallion come charging at him. "Open the door!" Cedric bellowed.   
  
"Don't kill me!" the boy ran to the doors and flung them open. We were out into the night.   
  
I heard curses and shouts as the guards and Outriders bridled their own horses, which had been incensed by our raucous exit. Soon I heard the first of them pounding after us as we charged through the castle grounds. Soon we came to the front of the palace- and the gates.   
  
Cedric turned the horse at the gates and cantered through them and out into the streets of Kith. The clatter of hooves echoed loudly on the deserted streets. More hoof beats pursued ours.   
  
The chase was on!   
  
a/n: thank you to cherrychica for telling me not to delete the story. i should have putt it in the last chapter, but i was too tired. anyway...this chapter went fast! i mean...24 hours is good for me. Almost 50 MW pages now!!! yippee skippee!!!  
  
if ANYBODY has suggestions for something that will happen later on, review or email me at shnickerdoodle89@aol.com !!!! :o) other than that...reviews please!!!   
  
i want some reviews reviewsies reviews!!!   
  
oh- if you haven't noticed the fairy tales...i've included rapunzel (tower w/ vanishing door) sleeping beauty (cedric wakes with a kiss) and cinderella (glass/diamond slippers) snow white (talking/rhyming mirror)   
  
hahaha!   
  
now, if you read this, review it please! even if it just says something silly like "hi" i don't really care...just want reviews! (and i am not ashamed to beg for them) ok then...  
  
any suggestions for plot lines/ events...email me or review! i want your ideas!!!!!   
  
~EvenSong~ 


	10. A Promise

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
A/N: I revised Chapter Ten...It's different. You should read it.   
  
I clung to Cedric out of sheer desperation. The Outriders pounded along the crowded streets, shouting useless commands.   
  
"Stop!"  
  
"Halt witch!"  
  
"Wait for us!"   
  
Of course we didn't stop, halt or wait, we just ran. Eventually, we lost the Outriders in the confusion of the crowded streets.   
  
"Halt!" I looked up in confusion; the latest command had come from somewhere in front of us!   
  
We almost ran the speaker over before Cedric pulled the horse to a halt.   
  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Cedric asked indignantly.   
  
"I'm- a -someone," The man stuttered out defensively.  
  
"A someone?" Cedric's voice was filled with scorn.   
  
"Are you an Outrider or a guard?" I asked bluntly in a moment of pure stupidity.   
  
"Why yes, yes I am." The man smiled and laughed. "You are under arrest, both of you."   
  
"No!" Cedric yelled forcefully. I slipped sideways as the horse bolted forward suddenly, as a result of being jammed in the sides with Cedric's heels.   
  
"Cedric! I'm falling!" I screamed, stating the obvious. I had already tangled my fingers in the horse's coarse mane, but my grip was coming with an increasing price. My fingers were cut deeply by the horse's mane, and my fingers were losing circulation and going numb. My hands were sticky with my own blood.   
  
"Gotcha!" Cedric's hand swung down to grab my waist. He missed by inches. The imposter guard had wrapped his arms around my legs. It had been him who had spoken.   
  
"Dammit Dammit OW!"I screamed more curses and oaths as the fingers that were tangled in the horse's mane either broke or cut more deeply.   
  
"Sparrow! I'll come back to get you! I promise!" The horse plowed on through the now deserted streets. I lost sight of him as my captor dragged me to the ground as he fell.   
  
"Do you really think that he'll come back to get you?" He said in my ear, his words instilling doubt and disbelief.   
  
"Um," I didn't know. Would Cedric come back for me? Our countries were at war, and, theoretically, he shouldn't care whether I lived or died. Even still, I was the prophesized 'key' that would win the war, so he would want to come back for me, but not for me- for my abilities. What if all he had said wasn't true? That he didn't truly love me, that he was just using me to further his own country. Stubbornly, my heart disagreed. "He'll come back, he said so."   
  
"But what is his word worth?"   
  
"Just who do you think you are?"   
  
The man's hand grasped my throat with surprising strength and brutality. "As of the moment, the person who decides whether you live or die."   
  
"He'll come and save me," I said obstinately. "A prince's word is always good." I intoned loftily, not realizing the inanity of my statement. Apparently, the lack of oxygen to my brain was making me say things that should have been kept quiet.   
  
"A prince, eh?" The hand around my throat tightened until unconsciousness had a secure hold on me. I just couldn't seem to remember how to breathe. "We'll see how much he'll pay for your life then, won't we."   
  
I heard the Outriders gallop up, and then, only my heartbeat.   
  
"One hundred gold sovs."  
  
"Are you kidding me? No way, twenty sovs." It took me a little while to realize that they were bargaining over me.   
  
"Ninety."  
  
"Twenty-five sovs."  
  
"You won't get her at that price! Eighty!"   
  
"Fine, thirty-five."   
  
"Sixty-five and no less."   
  
"Fifty-five and it's a done deal."   
  
"Deal." I heard the men shake hands.   
  
My eyes stayed tightly shut, as if glued together, as a big man picked me up and slung me over his shoulder. I gasped when my solar plexus met violently with the man's shoulder.   
  
I tried to move, but discovered that I was bound hand and foot.   
  
"Mmph!" I squeaked in surprise.   
  
"What the hell?" My carrier cursed as I squirmed about pointlessly. I finally fell off his shoulder and onto the floor, conveniently forgetting that I couldn't do anything but wiggle.   
  
"Bitch!" The man lunged after me and hauled me back, cursing as I bit and kicked him.   
  
I finally got my eyes to open just in time to see his fist come crashing into my face.   
  
I screamed and reeled back dizzily. All I could feel was fiery pain! Pain! Pain!   
  
Then, there was nothing.   
  
A/N: Ooh...cliffie. I changed this chapter a lot. I like it a lot more, too. I have more. I just have to type it. I was writing this in the snatches of study hall that i had left over, so i had lots of trouble deciphering my handwriting...hehe. Anyway...review this!   
  
Pabo- thank you for pointing out that it is rather illogical for Liana to just immeadiately trust Cedric. This should make that seem a little more realistic.   
  
Black Jaguar- thanks for reviewing and giving mean honest opinion!! what did you think of the revised chapter?   
  
cherry chica- was this chapter better? i hope so. did things happen at a better pace too? tell me!!   
  
Tallemera Rane- thank you for reviewing again! i hope you had a nice vacation! Yeah, i think the falling in love had to do with Sky's magic so...heehee.   
  
Raspberry Girl- what do you mean when you say the plot is getting "transparent"? Could you explain that comment for me? i would really appreciate it. What did you find random? I believe that this chapter was better with the elaboration of events, although i'm not sure. Could you be a little more specific when you review please? That woul be a big help to help me make the story all together better.   
  
:o) thanks to all you reviewed! (o:  
  
*smile* 


	11. Death and Resurrection

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
I opened my eyes and Sky was standing over me, glaring at me.   
  
"Ignorant mortal! Do you know what you have done? You've killed yourself! Stupid girl! Along with killing yourself, do you know what else you've killed? You've killed the chance for this land to have any peace!" Sky stormed about his realm in his almighty anger.   
  
"But-"  
  
"Don't say anything! I don't want to hear paltry excuses for why you're dead!" I blinked at him. I was dead? "Do you know why Syrlan has to win this war? Of course you don't, you don't know the future! You have no idea what the future holds! You have no idea of the amounts of ignorance and stupidity you mortals contain.   
  
"If you were to know what were to happen- well you can't; then you would know too much. I will tell you only that if Syrlan is vanquished, in a few decades, everything will cease to exist. And what have you done, my chosen? You've gotten yourself killed and left no hope for mortals!"   
  
I sat a bore the verbal abuse in silence.   
  
"Now I'll have to bring you back." Sky stopped pacing and looked me in the eyes. "Once you go back to the mortal realm, you won't be the dame, you know. You'll see things that other, normal, people- can't."   
  
"Like what?" I ventured the question.   
  
Sky laughed harshly. "Death." He said simply. "It is time for you to go back; you have been here too long already. Oh- one last thing: you must not let Lamar and Syrlan mingle once the war is over, nor should you let the King follow his General's advice." Sky's voice faded and I returned to the nothingness.   
  
~*~  
  
A/N: short, I know, but I thought that this should be in a chapter of its own. Yes, she did die. I had to do that. Now all i need to figure out is what happens next...  
  
Black Jaguar- i didn't revise the chapter just because of you...lot's of other people didn't like (including myself). So don't feel bad. :o)  
  
*smile*   
  
-review-  
  
!!!  
  
~*~ 


	12. To Ride the Wind

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
Pain shattered into my consciousness as I returned to my body. Slowly, it subsided to a dull ache that was centered in my head. Cedric hadn't kept his promise to me, I thought dully.   
  
Slowly, painfully, I opened my eyes. The light that brutally bombarded my eyes stung, and quickly shut them, moaning pitifully.   
  
"Ah, you're awake." A beautiful voice soothed my hurts, and I felt my stiff lips turn into a smile. "We thought we'd lost you after Coram brought you in." A gentle hand stroked my hair.   
  
"How long?" I croaked. My voice was scratchy from disuse.   
  
"What was that?" The hand stopped stroking my hair, and I could feel breath on my face.   
  
I coughed lightly a few times. "How long?" I managed to whisper after a while. "How long have I been, asleep?" I almost said 'dead' but caught myself.   
  
"Almost two days now."   
  
"No!" I sat up abruptly, remembering Sky's instruction about getting to Syrlan before Beltaine. The pain of sitting up made me lie down again quickly.   
  
"Don't do that! What was 'no' about?"   
  
"What day is it? Is it after Beltaine?" I hissed, wishing I had better control over my voice.   
  
"It's Beltaine today. If you have a sweetheart," I heard the scorn in her voice, "You won't be able to meet him tonight. You broke your nose into shatters when you fell down."   
  
"But I didn't fall down," I whispered in confusion.   
  
"You wouldn't remember, dove, Coram said that you'd knocked yourself out cold. By all means, you should have been dead." How right she was, I had been dead, but I wasn't about to tell her that.   
  
"Oh." I said, my voice small.   
  
"Now drink this," a cup was put to my lips, but I refused to drink. I could not be asleep if I were to make it to Syrlan by nightfall. So I let the stuff dribble down my chin, swallowing at intervals. I relaxed and yawned, whimpering at the pain that came.   
  
I heard footsteps retreating and I slowly sat up when I heard a door slam. My eyes opened in little slits and I looked around the room. The door was to my left. I slipped out of bed and gradually stood up. The waves of dizziness that hit me pushed me back onto the bed, and I sat there, contemplating my situation.  
  
Once again, I tried to stand, and once again, I failed. Then soft footsteps made me crawl back into a sleeping position.   
  
"Sparrow! Lady Sparrow!" I opened my eyes a crack. A man was standing in the doorway, looking at me. I didn't recognize him.   
  
Sighing, he walked over to my bedside and stood there for a while just breathing. I listened to the regular rhythms of his breathing and matched mine to it.   
  
Suddenly I was being picked up, carried, and concealed by this strange man. The beating of his heart thudded in my ear as I twisted in his arms, wondering what was going on?   
  
"Stay put, don't wiggle. Sky sent me to help you. He does not ask you to do the impossible." Oh. I stopped squirming immediately. "Open your eyes, Chosen One, look at me."   
  
I looked up and stopped breathing. "Who are you?" I gasped out. The face I was looking at was horrible, a skeletal mask.   
  
"I am Death, Chosen One." The skull smiled at me, "Most people don't see me this way, only you and those who are about to die."   
  
"Oh. I see. Well," I shuddered, "How are you going to help me?"   
  
"Very straightforward, I see. Well, I will set you on the way to Syrlan." He stopped and stepped into a niche in the wall. "We must go at once to the stables. For you, it will be a painful journey. I am sorry, but we cannot risk being seen."   
  
"How are we traveling?"   
  
"By Sky's magic. Now, cling tight to my cloak." I had a small sensation of moving, and then fiery paroxysms of pain shot through my body. I screamed silently, my fingers tearing at Death's cloak.   
  
Then, as suddenly as it had come, it was gone.   
  
I was me again, tired, and sore. I breathed in and smelled the pungent odor of horse manure. I sneezed violently a few times, hoping desperately that no one had heard me.   
  
"Stand, Chosen One." Death set me on my feet and I wavered between collapsing and walking.   
  
Peering through eyes averse to the outside light, I walked to the stables, gripping Death's emaciated hand.   
  
We ended up standing outside the stall of the great grey stallion that Cedric and I had tried to escape on.   
  
"This is Windrunner," Death said softly. I reached out a trembling hand to stroke the stallion's velvety nose.   
  
"Hello Windrunner," I crooned. Windrunner nickered in response.  
  
"Are you ready to ride?" I nodded an affirmative. "No you aren't." Death shook his head. "You are in no shape to ride at all. Even still, you must, so I will put you outside the eastern gate. You must fly after that. Do not stop unless you absolutely have to."   
  
"Thank you," I said softly, feeling a tear welling up in my eye.   
  
"Are you ready for pain again?"   
  
"I am." I took Death's hand and Windrunner's reins and almost collapsed with the intensity of the pain. The stallion screamed in pain, his cries echoing around my head.   
  
Then everything was still and quiet.   
  
Windrunner panted heavily beside me, rolling his eyes nervously. I caught my breath and Death hoisted me up into the light saddle.  
  
"Good luck, Chosen One." Death clasped my hand tightly, and then disappeared.   
  
"Thank you," I murmured into the wind.   
  
"Fly," it replied. I clucked gently to Windrunner and prodded him with my heels.   
  
"Come on, let's go." I clucked again and we set out at a jarring trot. "Argh." I moaned. "Faster, let's go."   
  
Windrunner snorted and moved into a rocking canter. Ah, much more comfortable for me, even though every movement still hurt unbearably.   
  
"Hey, you! Stop!" I heard the cry behind me. I looked and saw swarms of guards and Outriders galloping behind me.   
  
Why did they always have to be there when I was trying to escape? "Go!" I called to Windrunner. He flew into a ground-eating gallop.   
  
Very suddenly, he halted. I crashed into his neck with an "Oomph."  
  
"Um," I sighed. There were many men coming at me from all sides, all except one. That one direction was west, the way that I did not want to go.   
  
Oh well, I thought to myself. That's our way out. I dug my heels into Windrunner's sides and he charged forward obediently.   
  
"Sharain na'sylth ka Varien!" I screamed over my shoulder. It was a war cry that I had learned from when Syrlandan soldiers from the capital had come to our town. I had no idea what it meant.   
  
I put my eyes forward then, and crouched down low over Windrunner's withers and urged him onward.   
  
"Fly," the wind whispered in my ears, "Fly!"   
  
And I did.   
  
~*~  
  
A/N: heehee...how'd you like that chapter? I liked it...  
  
I did steal something from another story...I stole the image of Death from Piers Anothony's Incarnations of Immortality series. (it was good, you should read it if you haven't.)   
  
Soon, my readers, soon, she will know who she is. I promise that she will meet up with Cedric again. (they are in love, after all.)   
  
But anyway, have fun reading this and review!  
  
~*~ 


	13. Sunlight on the Horizon

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
For the next day, I rode Windrunner. He lived up to his name, too- easily, he out distanced the horses of the Outriders and the guards that were following us.  
  
I was in a state of constant pain while I rode Windrunner. His gaits were smooth, but just not smooth enough for my injuries. I was jarred unmercifully by them.   
  
Somewhere along my ride, I fell asleep, clinging onto Windrunner. I know, because I woke up face down in the mud of someone's yard.   
  
"Papa!" I groaned as I woke to a little child's scream.   
  
"Papa! There's a- a- a person in the yard!" I could hear footsteps pounding toward me through the earth. Soon, I was rolled over by a pair of rough hands.   
  
"Who're ya?" The coarse voice cut through my pain, and jarred me back to myself.   
  
"Sp-sparrow." I stuttered, spitting out mouthfuls of mud. "Where's m' horse?" My words came out slurred, as if I were a drunkard.   
  
"Hmm." The man who held me down now picked me up. I opened my eyes and blinked at the world around me.   
  
The man who held me upright was tall, and well muscled. The beard that covered the bottom half of his face was mostly grey, but streaked with brown.   
  
I looked beyond him to a small boy no older than five. He must have been the one to call his papa, I decided. He was horse-like. A long face contained big teeth and wide brown eyes. A messy forelock had crept into his eyes, but he quickly brushed it away.   
  
"Papa, she's starin' at me," The little boy whispered loudly.   
  
The big man shook me violently, "Stop doing witchcraft. We heard of a little lady up in Kith who calls herself Sparrow. They says she bewitched Prince Cedric. I ain't taken no chances with my family."   
  
"I wasn't doing witchcraft," I protested in a small voice. "I'm not a witch."  
  
"Right." The big man hauled me into a little lean-to on the side of his house. "Stay here and I'll get you something to eat." As he walked away I heard him mutter, "Don't want no witches in my house."   
  
I rolled my eyes and sat there, grateful to be rid of Windrunner's constant motion. Shortly, the big man returned with two pieces of bread and a hunk of meat.   
  
"Thank you!" I said to him.   
  
"You're welcome." He replied gruffly. I tore into the bread immediately, taking bites out of the ham at intervals.   
  
"Mmm, good," I mumbled through a mouthful of food. I wondered idly to myself if Windrunner had food. "My horse!" I said as I sat bolt upright.  
  
"What horse?" the big man asked.   
  
"My horse, big grey stallion, good bloodlines, fast. Have you seen him?" I looked frantically around the yard, as if Windrunner could hide there.   
  
"Look, girl, I haven't seen your horse. He's not here." The big man eyed me suspiciously. "Where would you get such a fine horse anyway?"   
  
"Um," I couldn't tell him that it was Cedric's own stallion.   
  
"You stole it didn't ya?"   
  
"No, I didn't! I swear!" I inched toward the doorway.   
  
"Yes you did, I can see it in your eyes, in the shifty way they move. You stole that horse you're talking about. I'm reporting you." He lunged toward me, but I was already out of the shack and running. I hiked up the skirt that I was wearing and found my stride.  
  
It was wonderful to be running again.   
  
I made sure that I was running east, toward Syrlan. I could hear the man pounding along behind me, getting farther and farther away with each stride that I took.   
  
I found Windrunner along my way, and happily I mounted him. We galloped eastward, flying like the wind. I stopped once to pick herbs that would numb the pain in my head, and ate them quickly.   
  
Another time I stopped to hide from the patrols that were obviously looking for me. That time, I hid in a cave that was nearby, and tied Windrunner far enough back so that he wouldn't whinny to the other horses.   
  
I knew who I was again, as I traveled as fast as I could to Mirkyn. My travel was abnormal, for the distance I traveled should have been made in days, not in a single day and night.   
  
Sky must have helped me somewhere along the way, for I only ran into the one patrol of Outriders.   
  
By noon, I had reached the outskirts of Kith. I rode through the capitol city as fast as possible, keeping to the very outskirts beyond the wall. Evening found me in Syrlan, and I rejoiced.   
  
Knowing I couldn't stop now for anything, I pushed Windrunner harder. The long run didn't seem to affect the stallion at all; he just plowed onward.   
  
When midnight found me still in the saddle, I wasn't tired at all. I had energy to spare, and it appeared that Windrunner did too. I rode through the lush forests that blanketed the Syrlandan countryside.   
  
Over the horizon, I saw a grey shape before me: Mirkyn. I was almost at my goal!   
  
"Go! Fly!" I whispered to Windrunner. He responded with a whinny of delight and raced onward.  
  
The first rays of sunlight shot over the horizon, framing Mirkyn perfectly. I sighed at its beauty, but kept going.   
  
It was the dawn of Beltaine.   
  
I let my mind wander to Cedric, and our kiss of three nights before. I wondered if he was going to celebrate Beltaine with a pretty maid from the city or a Princess from a different land.   
  
I shoved my thoughts away from that prospect, and nudged Windrunner into an even faster gallop.   
  
We came to the gates of Mirkyn and were halted by the guards there.   
  
"State your name and business." A tired looking guard said.   
  
"Runner Liana, and I am here to see King Omar." I sat tall in the saddle, praying that they would let me in.   
  
"If you have a complaint to voice to the King, then you missed your day. That was yesterday." The guard looked at me. "Don't you know that Beltaine is a national festival?"   
  
"Of course I know!" I glared at the guard. "This is urgent. This is about the war." I chewed on my lip nervously.   
  
"Hold on, I'm coming down." The guard disappeared, and then reappeared in front of the gate. "Get off your horse," he said tersely.  
  
I did as he asked. When I stood on the ground, I found that my legs were extremely sore from the unaccustomed riding. "Ow," I moaned pitifully to myself.  
  
Windrunner snorted and nudged me gently.   
  
"You are Liana?" The guard asked me.   
  
"Yes, I am a Runner from Hill Town. My name is Liana Fairchild, and I have spent the last month or so as a prisoner of Lamar. I must see the King. I have vital information for him." I took a breath and continued. "If you don't let me in to see the King, all of Syrlan will fall, and life as we know if will come to an end. Most likely, you will die; your wives, sisters or lover will be taken as prisoners, slaves and whores for Lamarans. Now will you let me see the King?" I locked eyes with the guardsman and he stared back in confusion.   
  
"How do you know all this?" he whispered in a shocked voice. "You don't seem older than twenty!"   
  
"I'm not." I sighed, and stood a little straighter. "I'm only seventeen. I'll be eighteen in the fall. Please, let me see the King." I felt a tear slipping from my eyes.   
  
"Come this way please." I followed the guardsman with Windrunner in tow. He led me through the city, taking me directly to the palace.   
  
"Where can I put my horse?" I asked the guard. Windrunner was in need of food and water, and I wanted him to be taken care of.   
  
"I'll take care of him, don't worry. Here, Jack will take care of you from here." The guardsman took Windrunner's reins from my hand and led him away.   
  
"Come on, little Runner. I'll take you to the Chamberlain." We found the Chamberlain quickly enough. He was standing in front of a pair of big wooden doors, frowning at anyone who passed.   
  
"Chamberlain, this Runner needs to see the King." The Chamberlain's frown deepened.   
  
"Why? I'm afraid I cannot allow it. He is in Counsel with the envoy from Lamar." The Chamberlain stared down at me, as if I were dirt.   
  
"I have to see the King! I have vital information for him about the war! I have to see the King." I was a good three hand spans shorter than the Chamberlain, which made it very easy for him to look down his nose at me.  
  
"But this treaty will end the war. There is no need for your information." The Chamberlain looked at Jack, "Take her away, please."   
  
"No damn way." I said, angered at his lack of feeling. Before either of them could stop me, I raced up to the doors and gave one of them a solid kick. It made a sound like a dull clunk. I kicked the door again and again until Jack pulled me away.   
  
I screamed like a madwoman, so infuriated at being thwarted so close to my goal. I kicked, I bit, I scratched and I punched. In my fury, I didn't hear the great doors being opened.   
  
"Sparrow!" I heard.   
  
I stopped, looked and stared. "Cedric," I whispered, my eyes wide.   
  
A/N: Yes, finally, I updated. Sorry it took so long...but school got in the way. you know...i think we're getting closer to the end. Don't worry, it's not the last chapter (yet).   
  
Tallemera-was this chapter better beacuse it had Cedric? I hope so...haha  
  
Black Jaguar- i tried reading Discworld stuff a long time ago. I have to find it again. Always need different books to read!!!   
  
CherryChica-this long enough? I finally got it up here...thanks for shoving me along...and i made mudpies over the weekend. I didn't eat them though.   
  
Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!!!   
  
Read again!   
  
(don't forget to review...hint hint)   
  
Shards Of EvenSong  
  
(oh...tell me what you think about this new penname!)  
  
:o) 


	14. The Eyes of Hate

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
Cedric strode over to me and enfolded me in his arms. "I thought I'd never see you again!" His mouth found mine and I enjoyed the sensations that were rushing through me.   
  
"Ahem." I heard someone clear his throat. Rather sheepishly, Cedric and I ended our kiss.   
  
"Prince Cedric, do you, um, know this lady?" I saw the King staring pointedly at us.   
  
"Yes sir, I do." Cedric blushed and I felt my own face get warm. "She, she was in Lamar with me for a time." My face went even redder with the looks of disapproval that the King and Chamberlain were giving me.   
  
"I'm not a whore," I muttered darkly to Cedric's shirt.  
  
"What is your name, young lady?" Omar asked me.   
  
I turned to Cedric and murmured, "I remember now," then, louder, I replied to the King, "My name is Liana. I am one of your chosen Runners."   
  
"Why are you here exactly?" The king asked imperiously.   
  
"I have important information that I am supposed to deliver to you in regards to the war we are at with Lamar." I clung tightly to Cedric's hand.   
  
The King smiled down at me. "No need to fret, little one, at the behest of my General, I have signed a treaty with Lamar that will end this war." He gestured to a tall man standing in the shadows.   
  
I stood there as if rooted to the ground. Sky's words from when I had killed myself echoed in my head. 'You should not let the King follow his General's advice.'  
  
"No," I whispered. "You listened to your general?" I asked the King softly.  
  
"Of course!" The King said, obviously chagrined at having a mere girl question him.   
  
"Um, well" I wasn't sure how exactly to tell the King that the treaty couldn't happen. "Can I know what's in the treaty?" I asked, slipping an innocent expression onto my face.   
  
The King looked like he was going to speak, but the dark man from the shadows interrupted him. "No, you are a commoner. There is no way that you would understand the nuances of this intricate treat between Syrlan and Lamar. You could not comprehend it." He sneered at me.   
  
I could tell that he was trying to belittle me with his high language. I smiled at him sweetly in response. "Well, maybe I wouldn't understand the nuances, but could I know at least the general content and all the things that my little peasant's mind would understand?" The General glared at me.   
  
"She does have a point, General Zarf." Cedric said cheerily.   
  
"No," Zarf said sullenly, "She can't see it."   
  
I could have screamed in exasperation. In fact I did.   
  
The King stared at me in surprise. The Chamberlain looked smug, while the General was somewhere between smug and in pain. Cedric was grimacing in pain.   
  
"Why not?" I let go of Cedric's hand and stomped over to General Zarf. "I should be able to know because I-I-" I stopped, unsure of how to tell all the people there that Sky had Chosen me to end the war.   
  
"See," Zarf sneered, "You can't even come up with a good reason to see the treaty." He looked down his nose at me, with triumph in his eyes. There was something else too, behind the triumph, the self-righteousness, and it made me shiver.   
  
Suddenly, I knew what would cause the end of the world I knew. This man, if he truly were a man, would end everything with his hate.   
  
I shrank back slightly, away from Zarf and his hateful glare. "Who are you?" I muttered, so only he and I could hear.   
  
"The end," he murmured back, his lips drawing up over his teeth in a spiteful smile. "The end of everything you mortals know, the beginning of my world. All your vaunted mortality will do you no good this time, little Runner. After all, mortals can die." He chuckled softly.   
  
My world shrank, I wasn't aware of anything but him. General Zarf, the evil one. "I'm not quite mortal," I said dazedly, then collapsed to the floor.   
  
  
  
"Welcome, Liana." I smiled at the sound of Sky's voice.   
  
"Hello Sky." Sky picked me up from where I lay and sat me next to him. "Why do I always have to faint, and look like a weakling?"   
  
Sky laughed gently, "My dear, I am sorry if it inconveniences you, but that is the only safe way to talk to you," Then he added, "Especially around him."   
  
"Who?"   
  
"Shadow. Hate. Darkness." Sky looked darkly at the ground. "You know him as General Zarf."   
  
"Oh." My voice was small.   
  
"Liana, my Chosen, you must get to the Kirin Gardens tonight, no later. Cedric will help you when he can." Sky paused and smiled when he saw me smiling at the mention of Cedric. "Pay attention, youngling. You need to know this to conquer Hate."   
  
"What is in the Kirin Gardens?" I interrupted.   
  
"I was coming to that, Chosen." Sky looked deep into the pond we were sitting near. "You will find a sword in the heart of the Kirin Gardens. The sword is one way to vanquish Hate."   
  
"But I can't use a sword!" I moaned, feeling inadequate.   
  
"I know, chosen, but there are more options. Lying next to the sword is a bow and a quiver of arrows. They are another way to vanquish hate. The next item is a lute."   
  
"How will that help me?" I whined desperately.   
  
"Patience, little one. The lute is a method of defeating Hate. Its music, when played with love, will defeat Hate, for Hate cannot abide love. You must choose when the time comes."   
  
"But what about the treaty?" Surely I couldn't accomplish anything with the treaty still in place?   
  
"Cedric has taken care of that," Sky said with a mischievous smile. Then his smile disappeared, "There will be one last battle. At that battle, you must defeat Hate. There will be no other chance." I looked up fearfully at Sky.   
  
"Are you sure that I can do this?" I wasn't sure that I could.   
  
"There is no room for doubt, Liana. Of course you can do this. Do you have anymore questions for me?" Sky hugged me close.   
  
"What will be the price of the last battle?" I looked up into Sky's clear blue eyes, wondering.   
  
"The price will be great." Sky sighed and continued. "Much that you love will be cut down in the midst of the battle. You may have to sacrifice something you care about the most to the battle, depending on which weapon you choose."   
  
I could feel my eyes widen at this warning, and I shivered in voluntarily. A strange sensation came over me, as if I was being pulled in two different directions.   
  
"He calls to you, Liana. I cannot hold you here any longer. Fight for what you believe in." I screamed, as the pulling sensation grew stronger, almost as if it wanted to rip me apart. Then, it stopped, and I opened my eyes.   
  
General Zarf stood at my side, looking properly worried on the outside. I quivered in fear when I thought of what I had just learned about him. Then Cedric's face leaned over mine, his green eyes worried.   
  
"Cedric!" I whispered hoarsely.   
  
"Sparrow, are you alright?" His hands caressed my forehead and I smiled at him.   
  
"Yes, I am, Cedric." I loved just saying his name over and over. A piece of black hair fell into his eyes and I reached up to brush it out of the way. "Where am I?" I asked, noticing for the first time the softness that I was lying on.   
  
"You're in my bed." Cedric said softly.   
  
"Oh." I giggled.   
  
"Is she awake?" I heard the King ask.   
  
"Yes," Zarf replied, sounding relieved. "They're, ahem, flirting, with one another at this time." His voice held cold disdain.   
  
"Let them flirt," The King said jovially.   
  
"Cedric," I whispered urgently, "Break the treaty."   
  
He smiled deviously at me. "I did. I did not agree with the way that they treated you, so I broke it."   
  
"Surely it cannot be as simple as that?" I was amazed.   
  
"It was easier," Cedric said softly. "They want this war to go on, at least, He does. He doesn't want a treaty with Lamar." Cedric said, and he jerked his head toward Zarf.   
  
"He is Hate," I replied. Cedric looked astonished. "I need to get to the Kirin Gardens tonight Cedric, tonight!" I told him, in a rush, most of what Sky had said to me.   
  
"You can sleep in my room then, and I'll get you there." Cedric's brow furrowed in thought, "I would certainly fit the spectacle we gave them earlier," He said with a grin.   
  
"Tonight then."   
  
"Tonight." We smiled and Cedric kissed me softly once. I just blushed happily.   
  
~*~  
  
A/N: Heehee...Zarf...heehee...I had to give him a comical name. Does anyone else find "Zarf" funny? I do...Now, (i have another question) can anyone guess which weapon Liana will chose? I just wanna know...   
  
Ok...sorry for not updating a lot, but I've been busy with homework of all things this week, and i was in New York picking apples from Friday to Sunday. We now have four effing bags sitting on the front porch. But I have off today (Monday) so, I got this chapter up. Fourteen Chapters!!! WOW!!!   
  
Thanks to...  
  
TallemeraRane- did Cedric speak enough in the chapter? There was much more fluffiness this time, yes? HehHeh  
  
BlackJaguar12- I figured this out (how Cedric got to Mirkyn before Liana) He left while she was still "sick" and got a headstart that way. Then, Liana's going west, and Cedric's going east...so he gets there before her. Makes sense now? I hope so...  
  
cherrychica-no mudpies in this chapter lol...  
  
Katsiebee- thanks for reviewing!! thanks for the compliment too...:o)  
  
~Even*Song~  
  
(ooh doesn't that look fancy?:oP) 


	15. Choice

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
I was snuggled in Cedric's arms, smiling like a fool. He was getting his instructions from Sky. I waited patiently, happy to be with him again.   
  
"Liana." I looked up and saw Death, smiling at me. It was a gruesome, yet welcome sight.   
  
"Death, why are you here?" I smiled back.   
  
"You need a guide, one who can take you over miles in a short amount of time. I can do that." Death held out his hand, and I took it. "Come, he will meet us later."   
  
"No. We wait until he is…back. Then we can go." I took Cedric's hand in my own.   
  
"Of course, Chosen." Death's smile diminished. Cedric's arms tightened around me, and I smiled at him.   
  
"Come, we must be going." I clenched his hand tighter, and nodded to Death.   
  
The pain whipped through me, but I did not scream. I refused to scream. Cedric had no such inhibitions. He let out a bellow that shook my body.   
  
As quickly as it had come, it was gone.  
  
We were standing in front of an arching iron gate. Bits of ivy and stray leaves spilled over the stonewall that surrounded…whatever it was. I shivered as a cool breeze wafted toward us, carrying a thousand scents.   
  
I breathed deeply, and grinned at the promise that the smells had. There was hope after all!   
  
Death let us stand there in wonder for a few moments. He dropped my hand and walked to the gate. "This is the gateway to the Kirin Gardens. Liana, you are the only one who can open it. You must open it; else all shall be lost. Cedric, you shall guide her through the gardens, until you reach the Heart of the Gardens.   
  
"Then you will choose your weapon, Liana. I will be waiting for you to take you back." Death stepped aside, and sat down to wait.   
  
"Thank you, Death." I stepped up and kissed him on the cheek, not knowing precisely how to thank him.  
  
"Go, Liana," he said with a fatherly smile.   
  
"Are you ready, Sparrow?" I smiled at Cedric and we stepped up to the gate together.   
  
We were swallowed into a vortex of light and color. Wave after wave of dizziness hit me, and it brought me to my knees. I felt Cedric falling beside me, and I felt slightly glad about it. At least I wasn't the only one suffering.  
  
Then, everything stopped, and there was a crisp light falling around us. I saw Death sitting to the side, but he was in Shadow.   
  
I started to reach out for him, but Cedric stopped me. "No, you must stay in the Light, Liana." His voice had a strange timbre to it, and it frightened me. "Look to the Gate," he said.   
  
I looked. The Gate was the same spidery iron fixture that it had been, but there was more to it now. Two small handprints were embedded in the iron of the latch.   
  
My instinct took over. As if in a dream, I walked up to the Gate and pressed my hands into the prints. It was a perfect fit.  
  
"Good. Now walk forward." Cedric held onto my shoulders, gently pushing me forward. I took one hesitant step- and the gate wavered.  
  
It was as if I was seeing it through smoke. I pushed forward again, and it trembled slightly. "Go," Cedric whispered encouragingly. I plunged through the Gate.   
  
The darkness enveloped me. "OhdearSky," I moaned. I tried to open my eyes, to rid myself of the blackness that hung around me like a shroud.   
  
But my eyes were already open. I was blind.   
  
"Cedric," I moaned, turning to where I thought he was. "I can't do this! I'm blind!"   
  
"Shush, Liana, I will Guide you. That is my job, to Guide you." I felt his warm hands holding my own. "Trust me, dearling, and I will get you to the Heart of the Gardens." His lips brushed my forehead, and I felt reassured.   
  
"I love you, Cedric." I smiled and let him lead me onward.   
  
We didn't talk at all, so I thought a lot to myself. I remembered our race through the streets of Kith, and how Cedric had left me there. My mind filled with doubt. Would he leave me again? Would he be able to get me to the Heart of the Gardens, whatever that was?   
  
I matched my steps to my heartbeat, trying to get my mind away from all the doubt.   
  
The nagging voice in my mind wouldn't let me forget about how he had left me. I had been killed after he had left me in Kith. If he left me again, would I die again? If I did die, would I live again?  
  
"Liana, we are here." The odd resonance to Cedric's voice was there, and stronger than ever.  
  
"I can't see anything, Cedric." I was panicking, and I acknowledged that fact in my mind, and did nothing about it.   
  
"You are trying to look with your eyes. Look with your heart, Liana, and then say you cannot see." Cedric's hands let go of my own.   
  
I was on my own.   
  
"I'll try," I said, with as much bravado in my voice as possible to bolster my confidence. I close my eyes, and tried to look with my heart. All I saw was blackness. "It's not working, Cedric!"   
  
"Close your eyes," He said to me. His hand brushed down over my face. "Think of things you love, like Running, singing, and anything else." I could feel his solid body pressing against mine. "Now, look with your heart again."   
  
I concentrated on the things that I loved. Running, singing, Syrlan, and Cedric. I imagined myself opening a pair of big grey eyes, and I saw.   
  
There was a tree stump in the middle of a grove of resplendent goldenwood trees. The stump had been ornately decorated with intricate designs and patterns. On the stump, which was more like a pedestal, were three objects.   
  
The sword, the bow and quiver, and the lute.   
  
I walked over, and Cedric let me go, trusting now that I could see my own way. For an eternity, I stood in front of the weapons, staring at them. I stretched a hand out, and touched the sword.   
  
I was filled with a longing to kill everything. I would spare nothing, while I had this sword. Everything would die by my hand, and I was infallible. I saw myself riding on a black charger, riding into the ranks of men lined up before me. They would all die, and they knew it. I could see it on their faces, smell their fear. Hungrily, I wreaked havoc within them, watching them die, feeling their warm lifeblood splash up against me-  
  
I broke the contact with a shudder. I could not use the sword.   
  
I moved on to the bow and arrows. Once again, I rested my hand upon the weapon, wondering what I would find.   
  
The trees were my shelter, and the battlefield was the forest. No one could get past me. They would get shot if they did. I had the forest all to myself, for no one dared come this way. I had killed all who had tried to. I remembered the first man that I had killed. He was handsome enough, with his raven black hair and sparkling green eyes. He had ridden alongside a foppish court lady. They had both died easily, soundlessly. His name had been Cedric; I had heard the delicate Lady screaming his name as she died with the arrow in her chest.   
  
I screamed and reeled back, praying that it hadn't been true. I saw Cedric sitting on the ground, waiting for me to make my choice. He was safe and whole. I would not use the bow either.   
  
I looked at the last weapon, the lute. Cynically, I wondered what good it would do. It didn't have a point, or anything sharp to hurt someone with. I brushed my fingertips against it, stroking the cherry wood.   
  
The most wonderful music filled me, and I smiled subconsciously. I saw myself dancing on the night of Alejandro's Ball, whirling amidst the color and splendor of the Royalty. Cedric's arms were around me, and I was happy. I felt his lips on mine as we stole kisses on the way back from his garden. I saw my mother's face, smiling as she whirled me around the room as a little child. I saw Jake, laughing as he chased after me, almost catching me. I saw everything that I had loved, or still loved, flash over my mind when I touched the lute.   
  
This would be my weapon. I smiled, picked it up and clutched it to me possessively.   
  
"I am ready." I said to Cedric with new confidence.   
  
"Then let us go. Take my hand." Holding the lute gently by its long neck, I took Cedric's hand. We started walking, and I kept watching the path through the eyes of my heart.   
  
The goldenwood trees sparkled in the dying light, and I longed to touch one. The sweet scent of moonflowers perfumed the night air, and I smiled. I saw splendid creatures reputed to have disappeared centuries ago. Unicorns danced in the golden sunlight that filtered in from the branches high above our heads. In the distance, I heard a bellow as a blast of flame seared the air: a dragon. I saw faces forming in the trees, and I gasped in astonishment as pixies fluttered around my head.   
  
"Oh it's beautiful!" I breathed.   
  
"Liana, I am sorry to disappoint you, but it is time for you to open the Gate. We must go." Cedric touched my shoulder affectionately.   
  
"Oh." I tucked the lute under my arm, and studied the way out. Two wrought iron handles protruded elegantly from the Gate. I put one hand on either of them, and pulled. The Gate shimmered, and the eyes of my heart were closed, and my other eyes reopened.   
  
"Welcome back Liana, Cedric." I looked at Cedric; he looked content.   
  
"Time to return, Death?" I smiled at him. Death smiled back and walked over to us.   
  
"Yes, Chosen." Death put his arm around my shoulders, and his other arm about Cedric. "It is late." I hugged the lute to me, and waited for the pain.   
  
My body shook with spasms of excruciating pain for a few moments that felt like forever. Then it stopped.   
  
I looked up, and saw the angry face of Hate, and the startled face of King Omar. It seemed that we had landed in the King's study.   
  
  
  
~*~  
  
A/N:I liked writing this chapter a lot. It was fun! I keep stealing things from other books...(well, duh) like the look through your heart...I got that from "The Storyteller's Daughter"(It was a good book...you should read it.)  
  
TallemeraRane- So Cedric did speak enough...and there was a little more fluffiness in this chapter too...:o)  
  
BlackJaguar12- About the direction thing...she started going west, and away from Syrlan. Then, she went east to get to Syrlan. I think that works...lol.   
  
cherrychica-A lute is like a guitar thingy. Its got strings, it looka a lot like a guitar, but it's smaller. I think. Try google and see what google says...  
  
Chibified- I think Zarf is a funny name too. I walked around for a while inserting it into sentences every so often. heehee...  
  
~Even*Song~  
  
(ooh doesn't that look fancy?:oP) 


	16. Sensations

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
"Where did you come from?" The King asked us.   
  
"Um…" I didn't know what to say. Suddenly, Death appeared at my side, and grabbed my hand. I must have looked odd holding onto thin air, considering the stares that I was getting.  
  
"I'm sorry, I am out of practice with transferring others. Hold on to him." Death jerked his head toward Cedric. I clutched the precious lute closer and grabbed Cedric's hand.   
  
"Thank you," I said and then there was pain, and only pain. When my head cleared, Death was nowhere to be found, and I was sprawled across Cedric's stomach.  
  
"Sparrow, get off me." Cedric's eyes contained laughter, and I rolled off of him with a giggle.   
  
"Weren't the Kirin Gardens just beautiful?" I said, remembering the goldenwoods and the unicorns.   
  
"No," Cedric said, looking at me in confusion. "All it was was a bunch of deadwood, some gnarled tree stumps and shadows."   
  
I frowned. "Didn't you see the unicorn? Or the goldenwoods?" He shook his head in negation. "Oh." I sighed. Why had I been the only one to see the beauty?   
  
"Sparrow, I remember how beautiful you looked at Alejandro's Ball. It all seems so far away now, even though it was only four days ago." Cedric sighed.   
  
"You thought I looked beautiful?" I asked him shyly. I could feel my cheeks suffusing with color.   
  
Cedric smiled and cupped my chin in one of his hands. "Yes, and I still think so." He leaned up to kiss me, and I felt the neck of the lute pressing into me.   
  
"Hold on," I said breathily. Quickly, I ran to the small couch that was in the room and placed the lute gently on it. "Continue," I said with a smile.   
  
Cedric's mouth brushed my hair, my forehead, my eyes, and finally, my lips. I clung to him as if I would never see him again. As the kiss deepened and grew more ardent, I found myself never wanting it to end.   
  
"I think I'm in love," Cedric murmured, and I laughed, not really taking him seriously. I kissed him quickly, and then pulled back.   
  
"You know, the first time I saw you, I hated you." I smiled and brushed my hair out of my face self-consciously.   
  
"And why did you hate me, love?" Cedric reached over and twirled some of my hair around his finger. It wrapped around twice, I noted, with little bits sticking out.   
  
"I hated you because…well, I don't know. I guess I hated you because you were my captor. You wouldn't believe some of the things that Eleanora told me!" I giggled and Cedric smiled.   
  
"What did she tell you?" He ran his fingertips along my cheek, and I shivered with pleasure.   
  
"That you would torture me." I frowned and Cedric tried to smooth the lines on my forehead away.   
  
"I would never do that loveling." He kissed me, and asked, "Do you still hate me?"   
  
I kissed him swiftly and replied, "Of course not, sweetling." He smiled and his arms slipped around my waist. I smiled, expecting more kisses, but then his fingers began to move.   
  
I giggled and screamed as he tickled me. "Not fair!" I yelled at him. "Hey! Stop that!" My sides were extremely ticklish, and Cedric knew it now. He tickled me relentlessly until we were both out of breath.   
  
"You said you would never torture me," I gasped out.   
  
"That wasn't exactly torture, now was it? You seemed to be laughing most of the time." Cedric smiled and his hand inched toward my waist.  
  
"Don't even think about it," I said with mock foreboding.   
  
"Oh really? What can you do to stop me?" Cedric raised his eyebrows and pulled a face.  
  
"This." I reached down and started to tickle him.   
  
"Oh no you don't!" Despite all his protests and threats of getting revenge, I help my own for a short while; a very short while.   
  
Soon I was the one writhing on the bed being tickled. I laughed until my sides hurt, and Cedric was unmerciful. Whenever I tried to tickle him, he always managed to turn the tables and tickle me even harder.   
  
Abruptly, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his face down to mine. "Enough of that, now, Prince Cedric. Princes shouldn't go around tickling helpless maidens and you know it! You really should know-" he stopped me mid sentence with a kiss.   
  
"Are you through lecturing me, Schoolmistress?" He said with false contriteness.   
  
"I suppose so." I smiled ruefully, and said, "I guess I'll have to find someone else to lecture…" I trailed off, sighing theatrically. I couldn't have gotten up if I had wanted to, since Cedric had me pinned from tickling.  
  
"No, never." Suddenly, the mood had gone from playful to serious. Our mouths met in a series of hungry kisses, each one more lingering, zealous and invasive than the last.   
  
The knock at the door startled us out of our romantic reverie.   
  
"Prince Cedric, the King sends me to check and see if you are well." I recognized the Chamberlain's stuffy voice and made a face.   
  
"I am well," Cedric called through the door.   
  
"The King says for me to see for myself." The Chamberlain pushed open the door after a prolonged pause from Cedric.   
  
I was sitting in the chair with my lute when the Chamberlain barged in. I was trying to discreetly fix my jerkin, as it had somehow come slightly undone.   
  
"Hussy," I heard the stupid man mutter as he walked by me. I stuck my tongue out at his back. Cedric started coughing when he saw me, and I knew it was to disguise laughter.   
  
Apparently, the Chamberlain knew it too. "Why are you laughing at me, Prince Cedric." I was surprised that he was questioning a noble.   
  
"I'm not laughing," Cedric wheezed, not sounding very convincing as little bursts of laughter slipped out.   
  
The Chamberlain sniffed haughtily. "Well, what shall I tell the King?"   
  
Cedric managed to suppress his laughter long enough to say, "I am well," Then he sagged onto the bed laughing. I was mimicking the Chamberlain when he turned to face me.   
  
"Yes, you think you're just the smart little thing, don't you?" A sniff, and hen more words directed at me in that nasty tone. "Just selling your favors all around, hoping someday to hit it big."   
  
My mouth was hanging open; I was startled by the very non-noble like words coming out of his mouth. "That wasn't nice!" I could feel tears coming to my eyes. Nonchalantly, I wondered if being considered a prostitute was better than being seen as a boy. I decided that I would rather be seen as a boy.   
  
I let one long, dramatic sniff out, and burst into tears.   
  
"Get out of here!" Cedric wasn't laughing now, as he bellowed at the snobby Chamberlain. He literally pushed the man out of the door, bolted it and rushed to me. "Sparrow!" His arms surrounded me, and I started to hiccup with laughter.   
  
"That was good wasn't it?" I asked in a watery voice. I could tell that my nose was red from crying. "I didn't know that I could just make myself cry like that." I smiled up at Cedric, and he chuckled.  
  
"You sure fooled me, loveling." He kissed me softly. Our kiss was interrupted, once again. I yawned very suddenly, and we both laughed.   
  
"I guess I should go to my own room, shouldn't I?" I was struck with how tired I was.   
  
"I'll walk you back. You'll get lost easily." I laughed sleepily and picked up the lute.   
  
"That's a good," yawn, "idea." We walked through the halls of the Syrlandan Palace, arm in arm. When we got to the door of my room, Cedric leaned down and kissed me once.   
  
"Goodnight, my little Sparrow." I walked into my room and placed the lute gently into a silk lined chest. I flopped down on the bed, and prepared to go to sleep, not even noticing the nightclothes laid out for me.  
  
"Don't you want to change, little Runner?" My eyes flew open as I heard a voice come from somewhere in my room. I saw a tall, thin person step out of the shadows.   
  
"General Zarf," I said, rather stupidly stating the obvious. "What're you doing in my room?" I sat up, clutching a blanket tightly in my hands.   
  
"You know who I am, Liana dear, so why don't you use my real name." Zarf strolled over to me and ran one thin hand down my cheek, like Cedric had. This hand, however, did not make me shiver in pleasure; instead, I felt a cold chill rush through my body.   
  
"Hate," I said cautiously, "Why are you here?"   
  
"To make sure you don't stop me, my dear." Hate took one of my hands in on of his. "You must not be able to wield that weapon you have protected to carefully." I felt sharp spines of pain shoot through my right hand.   
  
"Why are you hurting me?" I asked, not expecting my question to be answered. I felt tears, real tears, running down my face.   
  
"I must win this war for Lamar, Liana. You know that I can't have you helping Syrlan." Hate smiled genially at me, but on him it was twisted. I cried harder, as he took squeezed my hand in what should have been a loving fashion.   
  
"Stop! You're hurting me!" My tears seemed to inflame him even more. "Please, Hate, please, stop!" I felt my mind being clouded with the pain from my hand, and the fear of what Hate would do to me.  
  
"Oh, I can't stop now! The fun is only just beginning!" Hate smiled maliciously, and I shuddered. He let go of my hand, and I sighed in relief, thinking that the torture was over.   
  
"Thank you," I breathed, almost choking on the tears.   
  
Then his hands were around my throat, putting slow pressure on it. "You thank me for hurting you?" He said sardonically. My eyes rolled up in my head as I fought to breathe. Slowly, darkness fogged my mind. It came as slowly as Hate's increasing pressure on my neck. Just as I was about to slip into unconsciousness, Hate released me.   
  
"Why didn't you kill me?" I coughed out, as soon as I had regained my breath. I didn't really want to know the answer, but I got one anyway.   
  
"By the time I'm through with you, you won't want to live," he drawled. His hands worked their way down my body, touching every inch of me.   
  
"No, stop! Please stop!" I moaned as his hands sent splinters of pain through my body. When he started to undo the fastenings of my shirt, I screamed.   
  
"Shut up, pretty, no one will help you. Remember when you were in Kith, running away, and he left you there to die?" His words infiltrated my mind, and planted seeds of doubt.   
  
"But he stayed with me," I whimpered. "He stayed with me when he had to Guide me. He didn't leave me. He loves me!" I fought the doubt that was infiltrating my hope. I clung to the last three words. "He loves me!" I repeated them over and over, an endless litany of "He loves me!"   
  
"Silly child, he won't come back for you. He is a Prince you are a peasant. He has a fine Lady at home to come back to. You are just a little fling, meaningless and short." Hate ran his hands over the bare skin of my stomach. I screamed out, my chant interrupted by my piercing response to the pain.   
  
"He loves me," I gasped when I could.   
  
"Then why isn't he here?" Hate asked slyly, smirking at me.   
  
"He loves me," I sighed.   
  
"No, he doesn't. Nobody does." Hate pressed me to him, and I writhed in agonizing pain. I saw Hate's black eyes sparkling in the candlelight.   
  
"He loves me," I said defiantly.   
  
"I'm sure." Right before Hate pressed his lips to mine, I saw Cedric cautiously open the door, and I saw the hurt look on his face. Then my mind shattered in different directions as Hate kissed me violently, his tongue assaulting my mouth, his lips smothering mine.   
  
"Sparrow," he whispered.  
  
I screamed.   
  
  
  
~*~  
  
A/N:I'm procrastinating. I don't want to finish it yet...so i keep adding more stuff...heehee. That got to be a slightly (major understatement) fluffy chapter. At times.  
  
I scare myself with what I right some times. I'm getting shivers just thinking about it. Or maybe it's the lack of a working heater...anyway...  
  
Comments:  
  
TallemeraRane- Some nice fluffy fluff! Heh heh...  
  
BlackJaguar12- Well, to explain the Cedric thing...that will be explained in later chapters. (I think.) Sorry to leave unanswered questions but...it will be answered when i stop procrastinating.  
  
cherrychica-do you like this chapter too? I hope so....:o)  
  
Lady Sorrow-all 15 at one time? Wow...thank you for the compliments!   
  
I updated so quickly!!! I think the next chapter will be part of the battle...maybe. I don't know yet. Just wait and see!   
  
-{Even*Song} 


	17. The Ultimate Healer

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
Cedric…Cedric…my mind whispered calling out for him. I awoke with the slow difficulty of one who has been woken suddenly from a deep sleep.   
  
"Cedric," I murmured.   
  
"Quiet, dear," a familiar voice said. "It is better if you rest." I felt a cool hand stroking my forehead.   
  
"Who are you?" I asked, wondering how she could be in Lamar one day, and in Syrlan the next.   
  
"I am the Ultimate Healer, Chosen." I opened my eyes to see a lovely pale woman standing beside my bed. "I am Life." Her face kept shifting, as if she were moving in and out of shadow.   
  
"Thank you," I said humbly.   
  
"Oh, dear, it's all part of my job! You do not have to thank me!" Life laughed, and I smiled. "Now, go to sleep. It speeds the Healing."   
  
"But I don't want to sleep…"I mumbled, as her cool hand on my forehead sent waves of sleepiness seeping through me.   
  
I woke up a few hours later, as thirsty as if I had run five miles. "Water!" I croaked.   
  
"Here, Chosen drink." Life put a cup to my lips and I gulped it down.   
  
"More?" I asked hopefully.   
  
"Yes," Life laughed. "Here!" She refilled the cup and I drank eagerly. After a few more brimming cupfuls of water, my thirst was sated, and I lay back against the pillows.   
  
"Thank you, Life." I smiled contentedly at her.   
  
"You're welcome, Liana, dear." Life stroked my hair back out of my eyes. "You know, your hair is very soft."   
  
I gaped at her, astonished at the change of subject. "Is it?" I asked.   
  
"Yes, quite so. It's getting to be quite long, too." Life smiled deviously.   
  
"What do you mean?" I asked her suspiciously.   
  
"See for yourself!" Life held up some of my brown hair. It was draped off the side of the bed, where before it had just barely touched my shoulders.   
  
"OhdearSky!" I murmured. "How did it get so long?"   
  
"Well, I did it, and I thought it would make you a bit more…attractive to Cedric. He likes longhaired maidens, you know." She smiled happily at me.   
  
"Oh." I stared at the long piece of hair that she held in her hand. "Well, um…thank you." I stuttered out.   
  
"You're welcome!" Life turned at the knock on the door. "I wonder who that could be?" She walked over and opened it, and I noticed that she floated off the ground.   
  
"May I see Liana?" Cedric asked. His voice was monotone. "I need to speak with her.   
  
"Yes, I'll give you two some time alone," Life said merrily, and she floated out of the room.   
  
Cedric looked at me. "Liana." His voice was cold and distant, like the one that he used for annoying courtiers.   
  
"Cedric…" I trailed off, wondering what he thought of me.   
  
"You had General Zarf waiting for you the whole time, didn't you?" Cedric's voice was filled with bitterness. "I was just some side fling, something to toy with. You never even cared for me, did you?"   
  
My mouth hung open, and I felt a tear slipping down my cheek. "Why…how can you say that, Cedric? I…I love you!" I had said it once before, in the Kirin Gardens, and I meant it in that moment as much as I meant it talking to him now.   
  
"No you don't, how could you love someone like me, who will never even rule a country?" He glared at me, and I noticed little traces of wetness running down his face "You just wanted power all along, and not really me. You're just like every other maiden and court lady, just hoping to get higher status by marrying a prince. And I said I loved you." Cedric started to turn.   
  
"Cedric, wait. That's not true, and you know it! We both know it. Cedric, I love you, not your title, or anything else like that! Please Cedric, believe me! I love you!" I sobbed openly, not caring what he really thought, as long as he said he loved me.   
  
"Liana, you have Zarf, who practically rules the country! You don't want me! I'm only the General of the Outriders, a background strategist, no one important. Zarf is a man of power, so take him and be his Queen." His voice was unconvinced sounding. I almost smiled.   
  
"But I don't want Zarf! How could anyone ever love Hate?" I asked him. "I love you Cedric, and I always will. Please, Cedric, please, say you love me." I looked him in the eyes, pleading with my heart, my soul and my mind. I saw a glimmer of love, and then he put up a wall.   
  
"I…I can't say I love you if it isn't true." He sighed and turned away. I stared at his back in horror. He didn't love me?   
  
"Cedric…" I said his name one more time. "Why don't you love me?" my nose was clogged from my tears, so my question came out sounding like, "Why don't you luf be?"  
  
"Because, Liana, you don't love me." I sniffled loudly at this. How could he say that?   
  
"What have I been saying? Haven't you been listening to me? I keep saying I love you! But, no you can't love me because I don't love you! What the hell is your problem? Are you deaf?" I exploded at him, cursing him, using all the oaths that I had picked up from soldiers, sailors, and family. "I love you, dammit, of course I love you!" I screamed at him. Then I broke down in sobs.   
  
I felt a warm hand on my back. "Oh, Sparrow, of course I love you." I sniffled and let him turn my head to face him.   
  
"You do?" I sniffed loudly. "You love me?"   
  
"Yes, I do." He kissed me softly. "I'm sorry." I smiled at him, and bit my lip.   
  
"I'm sorry too, for calling you what I did." When he looked inquisitively at me, I shook my head and said, "You don't want to know." I sniffled again, and realized just how red my nose was.   
  
"I love you." He pushed me over so he could sit next to me.   
  
I smiled and shoved him back. "You know, it's not nice to try and push a maiden off her bed," I said innocently.   
  
He growled and said, "Well, it's not nice to push a prince, either." He kissed me fiercely then, and I let myself be swamped in the happy feelings that invaded my mind.   
  
Our kisses were abruptly interrupted by a big yawn from me. "I'm sleepy," I said drowsily.   
  
"Well, why don't you take a nap, and I be here when you wake up." Cedric smiled a stroked my hair. "How did your hair get so long?"   
  
"Um, a Healer did it. Would you mind chopping it off?" I looked hopefully at him.   
  
"Why? It looks beautiful long." Cedric smiled at me, and would have kissed me but for another yawn. We laughed, and I pulled the blankets up around me.  
  
"Good night," He said, sitting beside me. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.   
  
I woke up later, to find that Cedric was curled up beside me, fast asleep. I smiled sleepily, and slipped out of the bed, shivering when my feet touched the cold floor.   
  
I eased the grey dress that was laid out for me over my head. I shivered as I felt the soft material against my skin. It was a luxuriously warm, too.   
  
"You survived with your sanity. How?" I whirled around, dropping the old clothes that I had been holding. Hate stood in the doorway, glaring at me.   
  
"Go away." I shivered with fear, remembering our last meeting.   
  
"Why do you want to send me away? I just got here, after all." Hate pretended to sound hurt. "Can't I at least pay a social call?" He asked surreptitiously.   
  
"No, go away." I backed toward the window, not wanting to turn my back on him.   
  
"Smart little one, aren't you? Going to jump out the window, eh?" Hate smirked. "Not so fast, little bird." He lunged for me. I tried to scramble through the glass of the closed window, but Hate's hand caught my wrist.   
  
"Let go!" I yelled. I didn't care if I woke Cedric anymore.  
  
"Caught without your weapon, aren't you?" Hate sneered at me. He seemed intent on bringing me closer to him. I struggled as best I could, but a seventeen-year-old girl cannot do much against a strong immortal like Hate.  
  
"Let's see how well you survive another kiss, shall we?" Hate's mouth was close to mine, and I leaned backwards.   
  
"No, let's not." I said nervously. Suddenly, Hate pitched forward, and his eyes rolled up in his head. His head fell at my feet, and I saw Cedric standing behind him.   
  
"Are you alright, Sparrow?" He extended a hand to help me down from the windowsill.   
  
"Yes, thank you Cedric!" I hugged him tightly when I was down. Together, we looked at Hate's body sprawled across the wall. Sadly, he couldn't be killed.   
  
"Let's go." Cedric said uneasily, as Hate stirred.  
  
"Yes, let's," I agreed hurriedly. We walked out of the room that I had been in, and down the corridor to Cedric's rooms.   
  
Life met us in his rooms, smiling cheerily. "I'm so glad that you two worked out your differences," she chirped.   
  
"Were you spying on us?" Cedric asked suspiciously.   
  
"Of course!" Life said as if we should have known. Suddenly, Death appeared beside her.   
  
"Hello Chosen." Death nodded to me, completely ignoring Cedric.   
  
"Hello Death. How are you?" I inquired.   
  
"Quite fine. There will be death aplenty for me soon. I can feel it in the air." He laughed. "One could say that I feel it in my bones." He held up one skeletal hand.   
  
"Darling, shouldn't you tell her about what is to happen?" Life tugged at Death's arm. Darling? I wondered.   
  
"Right. Liana Chosen, you will be faced with a battle tomorrow that will never be matched by another. There will be much death, pain and sorrow. You must remain strong through all of it. Your only weapon is lute, as you have decreed by choosing it." Death paused, and his eyes flickered in Cedric's direction. "You will face much personal sorrow, Chosen. You must be strong through it all, and never falter."   
  
"Cedric?" I whispered, praying that it wouldn't be true.   
  
"Chosen, we cannot predict who will die and who will not, but just know that he is a target." Life smiled sadly at me. "I wish you well, Chosen. I will help where I can."  
  
"And I," Death said, "I will refrain from taken too many souls." He walked up to me and hugged me. "I wish you luck, Liana." Then he vanished.   
  
Life stepped up and hugged me. "I wish you a happy Life, Liana Chosen." Then she, too, vanished.   
  
I looked at Cedric, standing there, oblivious to the immortals vanishing.  
  
"Where did the lady go?" he asked me.   
  
"Oh Cedric, I love you," I said in a rush. "She's just…gone." I hugged him tightly.   
  
"I love you too, little Sparrow." His lips brushed my hair and I smiled into his shirt. I pulled back and walked to the lute, which I suspected had come to Cedric's rooms via Life or Death.   
  
"Well, little instrument, you seem to hold the fate of us all." I winced as sunlight lanced through the eastern window, and directly into my eyes. Had the night passed so quickly?   
  
"Good morning," I said with a sarcastic laugh. He laughed and flung open the window.   
  
"Prince Cedric!" a harried man burst through the open door. "You are to report to King Omar immediately." He panted as he leaned on the dresser.   
  
"Damn," Cedric cursed, and he turned to me. "Sparrow, do whatever you can to end this war." He kissed me aggressively, and turned back to the man. "I'm coming."   
  
"Come then, to the dungeons." The man grinned spitefully as five armed guards rushed in and wrestled Cedric to the ground. "You bastard Lamarans have killed my family. Now it's your turn to feel pain." The little man strode out of the room, as Cedric's glare followed him.   
  
As the guards began to lift Cedric to his feet, he shouted to me, "Sparrow! Run to the top of the East tower! Play from there!" Then the one of the men knocked him down to the ground.   
  
When he looked up with blood dripping from his lip, and saw me standing there in shock, he screamed, "Fly, you fool!" They knocked him down again, and he got up one last time. "I love…" he said hoarsely before they knocked him unconscious.   
  
"Cedric!" I breathed angrily, fearing that they would be the last words that I would ever hear from him.   
  
Carefully, I brushed the mark upon my cheek that signified me as a Runner, and ran.   
  
As I ran, my dress changed with each ray of light that hit it. It changed from the grey of the sea mists to the blood red of the rising sun, and finally the color of the golden light that shone down upon me.   
  
I began to play, singing the melody that I came up with. My song accompanied the first sounds of battle that touched the field.   
  
"Life and Death,   
  
Hand in hand,  
  
Wreaking havoc,  
  
Across the land…"   
  
And I sang.   
  
  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: I have planned the next couple of chapters. So I'm not really procrastinating anymore.   
  
Comments:  
  
cherrychica-Well, I don't why Cedric was standing there. Maybe he did something after she was unconcious. I don't really know. We might find out later. We'll see...:o)  
  
I updated so quickly!!! I think, no I know, the next chapter will be part of the battle. Just wait and see!   
  
I can't believe how fast that i am writing this! Wow...this makes me happy.   
  
-{Even*Song} 


	18. A Parting of Ways

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
"Leaving spots of  
  
Pain and blight  
  
Everything   
  
That they can smite  
  
Falls away   
  
Before their hands  
  
Breaking into  
  
The timeless sands  
  
Feel the wind   
  
Run through your hair  
  
As into lifeless eyes  
  
You stare  
  
Face Death  
  
And live again  
  
Do not fear  
  
Your heart will mend  
  
Follow the river  
  
As you run  
  
Heading toward   
  
The rising sun  
  
Over forest  
  
Field and dale  
  
Feel how over land  
  
Your feet do sail  
  
Listen well  
  
To birdsong sweet  
  
Everywhere you're lead  
  
By your feet  
  
Do not rest  
  
Until sundown  
  
Else you'll be  
  
Lying in the ground  
  
Watch the road   
  
Your path to run  
  
Run with the light  
  
Of the rising sun  
  
Feel the touch   
  
Of a mothers hand  
  
As you run  
  
Across the land  
  
Remember parting words  
  
As you leave  
  
Her at home  
  
To grieve  
  
Until your return   
  
Of bloody glory   
  
Ready to sit  
  
And tell your story   
  
Smile with friends  
  
The never last  
  
As you sit and reminisce   
  
About the past  
  
Feel once again  
  
A lover's touch  
  
One that you crave  
  
Oh so much  
  
Live for the happy hours  
  
Of Life's sweet sorrow  
  
As wait silently  
  
For the morrow  
  
Fight for love  
  
For life  
  
As you walk  
  
Amidst the strife  
  
Live for lovers  
  
For your mothers  
  
Your sisters  
  
Your brothers  
  
Fight my friends  
  
For what you believe in  
  
Not for Hate   
  
Or its accompanying sin  
  
Fight for the land  
  
You love to wander  
  
Fight for the lover  
  
Waiting yonder  
  
Fight for your friends  
  
Who die for you now  
  
Listen to their screams  
  
They are torn from foot to brow  
  
But never Hate  
  
Only love  
  
Love them for what they were  
  
As they watch from above  
  
Run and fight  
  
Noble guardsmen  
  
And live  
  
To strike again  
  
Live for your kingdom  
  
You home  
  
As watered is  
  
The loam  
  
Upon which   
  
You fight   
  
This day of   
  
Suicidal might  
  
Remember your mother  
  
And her parting smile  
  
As you may not  
  
See her for a long while  
  
Remember your friends  
  
Who sat with you when   
  
You cried   
  
Over the troubles of men  
  
Remember your lover's   
  
Last touch  
  
And how you love them  
  
So very much  
  
Put all the love   
  
You could ever feel  
  
Into the deadly weapon  
  
That you wield  
  
Water the ground  
  
With your life blood   
  
Turn the soil  
  
Into red mud  
  
As you fight for   
  
Your country Syrlan!  
  
And you fight   
  
Down to every last man  
  
Slip into Death's  
  
Firm grasp  
  
As he undoes  
  
The clasp  
  
Of Life's breath  
  
Sleep now noble warriors  
  
Who fight so well this day  
  
Slip out of life  
  
And go Death's saddened way  
  
Follow the road  
  
That you run  
  
And into the light  
  
Of the setting sun,"  
  
I stopped singing, suddenly acutely aware of what a gory mess laid before me. My fingers, sore from plucking the strings of the lute, held stubbornly on to the instrument, which was probably better, since Hate chose that moment to appear before me.   
  
"Little bitch!" He hissed, lunging for me. He had a bandage wrapped around his head form where Cedric had hit him. "Why did you have to interfere?" He sneered at me, "You, the little Chosen of the Sky, unprotected now. Where's your little lover, not here to save you?" Hate circled me, waiting for to do something.   
  
"He loves me, and he would be here but for you locking him up in the dungeons!" I screamed at Hate, although it wasn't much of a scream. It was more of a strangled croak. I felt hate for this demon who seemed intent on ruining everything that I loved.   
  
-No Chosen, do not succumb to Hate,- Life whispered in my mind.   
  
-If you do, you will surely Die,- said Death. They stood beside me, an immortal barrier between Hate and myself.  
  
"Thank you," I murmured to them.   
  
-Sing, Liana, Sing!- The said in unison.   
  
My cramped fingers uncurled, and positioned themselves on the lute. I plucked a few notes, and then I began to sing again.   
  
"Listen to my words Hate   
  
As I sing them loud and clear  
  
Those that Love and do not Hate  
  
Have of you no fear.   
  
Listen well and mourn your ending  
  
As I banish you to hell  
  
Leave the mortal realm to mortals  
  
And now I wish you well." I stopped singing as Hate's face contorted with something akin to pain. His image wavered in the air. His mouth worked in silent curses. I smiled one last time.   
  
"Go to hell, Hate, for your future I wish you well." Smiling, benevolently, I took Life and Death's hands and clung to them tightly.   
  
"Suffer you will," said Hate, glaring at me. His words seemed strained as if it were an effort to say them. "I hate you, Liana Chosen."   
  
"I love you, Hate, not your sins, but you." I reached out and touched his cheek gently. The effect his touch had had on me previously seemed to work in reverse this time.  
  
I felt no pain as Hate's face was deformed with the severity of pain he felt.   
  
"Good bye, Hate. Good luck." Hate's image wavered, flickered and then disappeared entirely.   
  
"We have work to do," Life said aloud.   
  
"We leave you now, so you may go find the one you love. I wish you well, Liana Chosen." Death stepped in and kissed my cheek, smiling as he pulled away. "I will miss you," he said   
  
"And I you," I said back, feeling a tight feeling in my throat that only mean tears.   
  
"Live a happy life," Life said and kissed me on my other cheek. "I hope that I will see you someday again," she said with a roguish wink that made me giggle and sniffle all at once.   
  
Life and Death joined hands, seemed to merge into one, disappeared and then reappeared upon the battlefield. I almost retched at the sight of the mess of limbs and mutilated bodies that were strewn across the field that had once been so beautiful with life. Now, there was only Death.   
  
Or so it seemed.   
  
As I saw the shifting face of Life walking among the warriors, some stirred, waiting to rise again. Those she touched, helping them to heal, and renew their lifeblood.   
  
I saw Death too, walking among the bodies, although he was relieving some men of their mortal agony. He carried a sheaf of filmy white things draped across his arm, and he added another layer, each time he relieved someone of pain.   
  
With a start, I realized that they were the souls of the deceased.   
  
As the last of the light settled across the crimson field, I saw a banner being raised. It held the crest of Syrlan, the "S" made of a vine. I knew that Syrlan had won on the battlefield.   
  
Smiling sadly, I observed the price that had been paid for the Syrlandan victory. It was the blood of innocents.   
  
Sighing, I turned to go win my own, more private battle. I had to go find Cedric.   
  
  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: Wow, that was long. For all of you who read the poem, tell me what you think of it. It was really really long!!! Wow!!! I really didn't think that I could do that...and then I, well, did. Okay, anyway...Tell me what you thought of this chapter! Please!!! I want to know if you guys thought that it was better than the last one.   
  
Okay, thanks for everyone who reviewed...sorry i don't have my usual comments, but i was only allowed on for just enough time to post this...and i could check out who had said what etc. Sorry.  
  
I really hope that some things were explained in this chapter. If you have questions, just tell me. (Hin hint, review)   
  
-{EvenSong} 


	19. The Lady of The Tower

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
With the lute dangling from my fingers, I walked gracefully down an endless amount of stairs, my dress slowly turning from the crimson red of the battlefield to the deep midnight blue of the night sky.   
  
All the whispers of the servants collected at the bottom of the tower hushed as I descended before them. From the looks on their faces, they thought that I was some kind of Goddess.   
  
"Take me to King Omar, immediately." I commanded of them. Nodding reverentially, they all stood there like lumps. "Who will take me to King Omar?" I demanded again.   
  
"I will." A thin young girl in the livery of the cooks stood up. Her blonde hair fell past her shoulders, and she looked to be about my age. Her eyes spoke otherwise; they were cold and hard.   
  
"Thank you." I stepped between the servants, being careful not to step on any fingers or toes. Silently, she led me through the hallways, winding along as if she had walked the palace since birth.   
  
"Lady of the Tower, I bring you to King Omar." She curtseyed and smiled without emotion. I walked up to the door and pushed it open.   
  
"King Omar?" I asked. A young man in a pristine tan tunic turned around.   
  
"He is dead. You would like to speak to King Corbin?" I saw what the young man was leaning over: a body.   
  
"If I may," I bowed my head.   
  
"What do you want?" The young man asked softly.   
  
"King Corbin, I wish to see the Lamaran prisoner, please." I looked the King-Elect in the eyes, which seemed to surprise him.   
  
"This way please." He said softly. "You are the famed Lady of the Tower that they talk about?" He gestured toward the lute. "They say that you won the battle."   
  
"I am not famed, nor am I the Lady of the Tower," I replied. "If I won the battle, it was only by the will of Sky." My trembling fingers slipped around the lute, teasing a few notes out.   
  
"You are pious, then?" Corbin looked askance at me.   
  
"If you would call it that, yes." I left out being chosen by Sky. I did not trust the new King yet.   
  
"What would you call it then, if not piety?" Corbin smiled politely.   
  
I remained silent, looking at the stones that I walked over. Corbin didn't press the point.   
  
"What are you if you are not the Lady of the Tower?" Corbin asked imperiously.   
  
"I am only Liana Fairchild, a Runner of Syrlan, beloved of," I caught myself before I said "Cedric."  
  
"Of whom, if I may be so nosy?" Corbin was being so polite it must have been painful.   
  
"Beloved of my beloved." I replied shortly. Corbin retreated a little.   
  
"We have arrived at the dungeons." Corbin said stiffly. He held the door open for me as I walked down the cold stone stairs to the dungeons.   
  
The malodorous smell invaded my nose. I sneezed violently as the smells of human waste, mold and people introduced themselves all at once. I looked around at the silent grey stone and grimaced. It all had an unfriendly feel to it.   
  
"Come," Corbin whispered in my ear. He led me through the silent dungeons, holding a flaming brand in one hand. "Here he is." The King-Elect opened the door to a cell and motioned me in.   
  
"Thank you," I said. I walked in, smiling as thought of Cedric.   
  
"Lady Sparrow! What in all hells are you doing here?" I looked up in surprise as Alejandro spoke from the shadows.   
  
"Prince Alejandro?" I asked, my mouth hanging open.   
  
"King, now," he corrected me. "What are you doing in here?" He asked again.   
  
"Well, I was looking for Cedric!" I said, as if it should have been obvious.   
  
"Watch how you talk to a king." Alejandro reprimanded me.   
  
"I'm sorry, you Highness," I said, bowing before him. "Do you know where Cedric is?" I looked hopefully up at him, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. I had lost all of my regal bearing and assumed maturity as I hoped of seeing Cedric.   
  
"Yes," Alejandro's face was sad in the dim light. He pointed to the corner.   
  
"Cedric!" I gasped. I looked at the body lying in the corner, and the tears were unshed no longer. "Oh, Sky, Cedric, no!"   
  
"I'm sorry, Sparrow." Alejandro patted my back awkwardly. I ignored him and rushed over to Cedric.   
  
"Cedric, please, be alive," I whispered to him. I could sense Alejandro standing behind me, watching me. I knelt down, aware of the filthy floor, but not caring. "Oh Sky, Cedric, you can't die! You're my Guide! Cedric!" I could feel a fading pulse in his neck and wrist. "No! Cedric! What did they do to you?" My hands could feel welts lining his back. The torn shirt parted easily, and I saw the glistening blood that coated his back.   
  
"Sparrow, they whipped him. He was trying to protect me. He said that Lamar must have a King and someone to protect Eleanora. I don't know what it means, but he died trying to protect me." I felt Alejandro's hand rubbing my back, soothing me.   
  
"Cedric," I choked out, swallowing tears. "Cedric!" I moaned, collapsing onto his body, not truly wanting to live without him. My tears mingled with the drying blood on his back, making it slippery again.   
  
"I- Sparrow, I…" Alejandro trailed off, leaving me in silence. I clung to Cedric's lifeless body, sobbing quietly. I ran my bloody fingers over his face, tracing his profile.   
  
I knew whom I had been singing about when I had mentioned the lover in my song. It had been Cedric. "No, no, not him, no…" I mumbled through my fogged mind. His eyes were open, and staring at nothing. Gently, tenderly, I closed them, leaving two bloody stains on his eyelids.   
  
When I closed his eyes for the final time, I sobbed even harder. "Goodbye," I coughed out, letting my tears just run.   
  
A weak moan from Cedric caught my attention.   
  
"Cedric?"   
  
"Sparrow?" I almost laughed as I climbed over his legs to reach his face. His green eyes glistened with tears and pain. "I love you." He seemed to be getting stronger by the second.   
  
"Cedric?" Alejandro asked from behind me. "How are you alive?"   
  
"Life," Cedric said, and smiled at me.   
  
I smiled back and kissed him affectionately on his lips. "It's good that you're alive, Cedric." I heard Corbin making obvious noise outside the cell. "King Corbin," I said sweetly, "If I may take my beloved with me when I leave for home, I would be greatly cheered."   
  
"Of course you may, Lady Liana." I smiled, and took Cedric's hand.   
  
"Come Cedric," we stood up, "Let's go."   
  
"Is there anything else that you would like, Lady Liana?" Corbin asked politely.   
  
"Yes, I would like to have King Alejandro be returned to his people at once." I said innocently.   
  
"That cannot happen." I stepped out in front of Corbin, holding tightly to Cedric's hand with Alejandro at my side.   
  
"I will now. Step aside." I pushed the King-Elect out of the way, giggling softly at the way his mouth was working like a fish.   
  
Walking past Corbin, I took the brand from his hand and led the way up the stairs and out of the dungeon. When we emerged into the light again, I was surprised to see the stars sprinkled across the velvety midnight sky.   
  
"Ride Alejandro. Ride to Lamar, protect Eleanora, choose a Princess, and live happily ever after," I told him. When I pushed him in the direction of the stables the servant girl with the blonde hair directed him the rest of the way. I smiled my thanks and turned to Cedric.  
  
"Darling, let's go get some sleep." I said when I noticed that he was looking rather pale.   
  
"Good idea," he muttered sleepily. I guided him to his rooms, where we both lay down on the bed. "Good night," he said, and started to snore almost instantly.   
  
"Good Night, Cedric. Get better." I smiled and rolled over onto my stomach. I fell asleep with a true, happy smile on my face.   
  
  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: Originally, I had Cedric dying and Liana dying in the morning. Then i couldn't figure out how to get her out of that, so i changed it. I like it MUCH better now!! :o) thanks to all of you guys who reviewed!!! All of you are awesome...about 2 more chapters left!!!  
  
Whee!   
  
EvenSong 


	20. Lord and Lady of Minaret

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
In the morning, when I woke up, Cedric was sitting on the bed just looking at me. "What?" I asked him sleepily.   
  
He just smiled mysteriously and walked into a room connected to the bedroom. I stretched, enjoying not having to get up right away. I looked at the chair, and I saw a dress laid out across it. There was a note attached: Something fit for a Princess. Put it on, Princess Sparrow.   
  
"Cedric?" I asked, turning to the doorway. The door was closed, and stamped my foot in annoyance. "Well, I might as well," I said to no one. The multi-colored gown from yesterday landed on the floor in a heap. I slipped the new dress on and shivered as it pooled around my feet.   
  
"You look lovely." I spun around, and saw Cedric standing in the doorway.   
  
"Thank you," I said, blushing a wonderful red. "Why did you do that?"   
  
"Because I love you," Cedric walked over to me and held me tightly.   
  
"I love you too," I said, and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. His hand grasped mine, and I felt a cool metal band slip onto my wrist.   
  
"Will you marry me, Sparrow?" I looked down at my wrist; on it was a delicate silver bracelet, with small star-stones embedded in it. It was a promise bracelet, something that lovers gave to their betrothed.   
  
"Cedric, but I'm a peasant! You're a Prince!" I felt the hidden doubts spill out like a river set loose. "It just wouldn't be right! I mean, what would people say?" I started to sniffle, and Cedric pulled me closer.   
  
"I can make whatever choice I want, Sparrow. I want to marry you." He kissed me lovingly. "Will you marry me?"   
  
Having spent all my fears, I smiled at him, "Yes, Cedric, I will." We smiled and kissed once more before being interrupted. I wondered in frustration why all the romantic moments we had together always seemed to be interrupted.   
  
"Prince Cedric, Lady Liana, would you please attend an audience with the King-Elect." The stuffy Chamberlain bowed reverently toward us. I noticed wryly that his attitude toward me had changed after hearing the rumors about me.   
  
"We would be delighted to attend," I said genially.   
  
"This way please." The man turned and we followed him through the hallways.   
  
I stepped into the audience chamber with a gasp of amazement. While it was not nearly as big as the Lamaran ballroom, it was still huge in its own right. King-Elect Corbin sat at the other end of the chamber, beckoning us closer.   
  
"Lady Liana of the Tower and Prince Cedric of Lamar." The Chamberlain announced.   
  
"Welcome, friends." Corbin stood and held out his hand for us to bow reverently over. I am afraid that I did snort derisively, but rather softly, as I brushed his hand with my lips.   
  
"We are pleased to be here, my King," I said with a polite smile.   
  
"I should have you imprisoned, you know. You are very disrespectful of your sovereign. In fact, that is a high crime, punishable by death. I see by the shocked look on your faces that you didn't," Corbin said dryly.  
  
"Death?" Cedric stuttered out. His face was as pale as mine felt. "Why is that punishable by death?"   
  
"Because of all the damage that that could incur. The lovely Liana here could incite a riot, or do some other dangerous thing. Of course, that is all on suspicion." I could sense the imposing presence of the guards that were surrounding us.   
  
"Why would you punish me by death?" I asked him coyly. I could feel rage at this ingrate beginning to well up in my mind. "I just saved your country, you little Sky-damned bastard. I hear now, these poisonous words coming from your lips that you want to save the one person who just saved your whole damn country! You ungrateful worm!" I hissed at him through clenched teeth. "You call some simple act of putting a spoiled child in his place disrespect of a sovereign? You had much more fatal unrest right beneath your eyes. Where is your prized General? Has he fled to where he belongs?" I smiled a predatory smile.   
  
"Sparrow, calm down." I felt Cedric's hand on my shoulder. "Listen to yourself! Do you know what you're saying?" My ears picked up the same odd quality that had filled his voice in the Kirin Gardens.   
  
"What is going on?" I heard Corbin ask indignantly.   
  
"Calm down, Liana," He didn't even sound like himself now. Instead, I found that he sounded more and more like Sky.   
  
"Cedric?" I asked, feeling my breathing return to a more normal rate.  
  
"Ah, Liana, you know who I really am." Sky smiled at me through Cedric.   
  
All of Corbin's protests faded into the background as Sky talked to me. "Liana, Hate is the only thing that can stop you now form your goal. You must not succumb to the temptation of it. Stay strong, my dear Chosen, and love. Remember, above all things, you must love." Sky kissed me on the cheek, in a fatherly manner, and receded from Cedric.   
  
"Liana, please explain what has just happened!" Corbin demanded shrilly.   
  
"Well, um…never mind, your highness. Don't worry your royal head about it." I said, smiling nervously at him.   
  
"Oh," said Corbin, looking rather miffed.  
  
"Yeah, um…so why did you want to see me, other than that fact that you wanted to kill me?" I took some deep breaths to calm myself before I started to yell at him again. "Would you elaborate, please?"   
  
"Why yes," The King-Elect said, looking like the proverbial cat that had swallowed the proverbial canary. "I wanted to thank you, after all, for saving my country." I was in shock. He seemed to have forgotten entirely my whole escapade a few minutes earlier. "I mean," he continued pompously, "If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't even have a country! Of course, I would still have a country that I belonged to, but it wouldn't be my own personal country, but that's beside the point." I felt Cedric's hand gently pushing up my jaw.   
  
I looked at him, and he winked subtly. Now I knew why Corbin was just prattling on, not even mentioning my tirade. Sky was a wonderful help. I smiled gratefully in his direction.   
  
"…And, as you know, saving a country is a heroic deed, so you must be properly rewarded. I have the perfect reward in mind, too…" I stopped listening to Corbin blathering on, instead choosing to think of my whole trip.  
  
I had started out a simple Runner from the country. My home had been destroyed, my family killed, and myself kidnapped. I had run away from Jake, leaving him to his death, and met Sienna. I had watched Sienna die at the hands of the Lamaran Outriders. One of them- Dominick- had almost raped me as well, until I found out my true calling from Sky. Then, I had been taken to the Lamaran Palace at Kith, met the Royals, and fallen in love with Cedric. I had attended my first ball, had my first kiss, and died. All in all, I had saved my country, talked back to my sovereign, and saved another country.   
  
I sighed dramatically, reflecting that all this had happened within two months, from the beginning of spring to the start of summer.   
  
"…I think that I will make you the Lady of your original home lands. It is currently under the rule of Lord of Carrel, but he has too much land anyway. You will have a small province called…" Corbin trailed off, looking perplexed.   
  
"What about Minaret?" Cedric suggested. "Lady Liana of Minaret." He smiled, and said, "It sounds good." Our fingers twined together as King-Elect Corbin nodded emphatically.   
  
"Good, good. Lady Liana of Minaret." The King-Elect looked pleased with himself, as if he had thought of it. "I like it. Lady of Minaret you shall be."   
  
"Thank you, oh gracious King." I curtseyed awkwardly. Wishing I had some innate grace so I wouldn't look utterly foolish.   
  
"If you would excuse my interruption, but may Sp-Liana and I share the title?" Cedric's had tightened around my own. "We are to be married within the month."   
  
"Of course, of course!" Corbin said with unreal jollity. "I congratulate you on your love." He frowned, the little lines etched across his forehead growing deeper. "I should marry too. I believe. Syrlan needs a Queen and an Heir. I'll have to think on this. Chamberlain!" Corbin seemed to be back to his normal self, thinking of his country.   
  
I smiled at Cedric, and walked out of the audience chamber.   
  
One month later, we were married in the hills of Minaret. It was a grand affair, with everyone who could make it there. As we recited our vows, we smiled like fools at one another.   
  
"You are bound this day, as not two, but one, and you shall live now and forever more with love in your hearts, Finale." Sky smiled at us, and we smiled back, sharing a secret that only we knew. To the rest of the crowd, he looked like a little old wandering priest who chanced upon a wedding.   
  
Cedric lifted the gauzy veil that whipped about my face in the wind. "I love you," He whispered as he pulled my face to his. A great cheer went up, dancing through the wind, celebrating the union of Lord Cedric and Lady Liana of Minaret.   
  
  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: Sniffle, sniffle. Besides the fact that I have a cold...that was such a happy ending! For all of you who throught that that was the end...there's more. Hah hah.   
  
One...sniffle...last...sniff sniff...chapter.   
  
I think I'm going to cry. No, sneeze is more like it.   
  
I'm sorry that this is kind of late, but I had marching band on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sturday this week. I was dead, and so was my hand. I nearly froze in the nippy temperatures of 30 something degrees. It didn't help that my shoulder was already numb from the sousaphone. They didn't give us a break for TWO WHOLE HOURS! That's a long time to hold a tuba on a shoulder. Brr. At least that's (almost) over now.   
  
I have one more chapter that should come pretty quickly. Have no fear! And then it is...sniffle...finished!!   
  
I am planning on a sequel. I need ideas on what you think it should be. Tell me please!!!   
  
I love all my reviewers who have stayed with me from the beginning! Whee!   
  
...Frozen EvenSong... 


	21. Epilogue

Discalimer: the bits of fairy tales that you recognize aren't mine, what you don't recognize as anything already written/published/copyrighted is. :o) on with the story!   
  
~*~  
  
So ends the tale of the Lady of the Tower, Liana called Sparrow, Chosen of Sky. The Lady of Minaret had three children: Salfa, Mathan and Elle. Lady Liana continued Running for King Corbin and his Queen Sara.  
  
Lord Cedric became a diplomat for King Corbin, negotiating any treaties between Lamar and Syrlan. Together, they lived a long and happy life, until the day that they died.   
  
-As written by: Lady Seanchai of Minaret, great granddaughter of Lady Liana of Minaret.   
  
~*~  
  
A/N: The End. Ta Da. All done. Give me ideas for a sequel, please. I would appreciate them very much. This was written much sooner than I had anticipated.   
  
I think I'm going to go cry in a corner now. This is about the first long story that I have finished and I don't want it to end!!! (Although it just did...)  
  
Give me ideas, please, I would like them...  
  
Which means all my lovely reviewers can review again!   
  
...EvenSong...  
  
Oh..."Seanchai" is pronounced "Shawn-ahh-kee". It means 'storyteller' in some language. Irish I think.   
  
21 chapters...wowie...  
  
Anyway...  
  
ttfn 


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